Range wide for state earmark requests; after hiatus, most of state delegation asks for funds

Cotton, Hill decline

U.S. Reps. Steve Womack (left) and Rick Crawford, both R-Ark., are shown in these undated file photos. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette file photos)
U.S. Reps. Steve Womack (left) and Rick Crawford, both R-Ark., are shown in these undated file photos. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette file photos)

A new library in Berryville. Highway widening in the Hot Springs area. Upgrades to a military gun range in Central Arkansas.

Those are among the dozens of earmark requests submitted by Arkansas' congressional members as they hope to funnel government money to specific projects in their home state.

Four members of the state's delegation sought earmarks for fiscal year 2023, covering a wide scope that ranges from transportation to environmental projects.

Supporters of earmarks say congressional members are knowledgeable about their districts and can direct money to the most important needs in their area. Opponents argue the practice can be a vehicle for frivolous government spending.

Earmarks were banned in Congress for years, but lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled Congress restored the practice in 2021.

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and U.S. Rep. French Hill have supported a ban on earmarks in their respective chambers and declined to seek earmarks for the upcoming fiscal year.

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, who submitted nearly a dozen earmark requests for fiscal year 2023, said he would not advocate for a community project if it was wasteful spending.

"It's obvious to me that I have certain needs in my district that are going to have to have federal involvement," said the lawmaker from Rogers.

One earmark request from Womack would funnel $7 million to help fund a new access road to the Northwest Arkansas National Airport in Highfill. Another would provide more than $700,000 in support of agricultural education programs at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.

The requests stand on their own merit, Womack said, adding that there's a cap on earmark spending under the current rules and his earmark requests undergo a vetting process.

"There's not some quid pro quo. There's nothing in our process that suggests that anything that we're doing is anything other than trying to help the 3rd district by helping local communities address urgent needs," Womack said. Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District covers a portion of Northwest Arkansas.

With the earmark process, Womack's office said he in part considers a project's impact on people and its ability to strengthen the region.

Money that's not requested by Republican members will end up being spent in Democratic districts, he said.

Casey Burgat, director of the Legislative Affairs program at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University, said earmarks can "grease the skids" and offer a lawmaker an incentive to be a good faith actor in the legislative process.

Lawmakers leaning in opposition to a budget might be more willing to vote for the measure if they know there's a direct benefit for their district, he said.

"Then there's also a representational component here where lawmakers are elected from their districts. They know it inside and out. They know where the needs are way better than representatives outside of their [district]," he said.

In recent weeks, earmark requests from Arkansas members cleared by the House Appropriations Committee, with some requests getting less money than initially sought.

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro requested $10 million for improvements to highway U.S. 412 in northern Arkansas and $7 million to the "Future I-57 Project," which intends to create a continuous freeway linking Chicago and Little Rock, according to his office.

The House Appropriations Committee voted to give each of the projects $5 million.

"We know that $5 million is just a start," he said. "We know that we're gonna have to spend more money than that over the next few years to be able to bring these projects to completion, but it's a steady process."

An extension of Interstate 57 could act as a relief valve for traffic on Interstate 40 and provide an economic impact for part of northeast Arkansas.

"We just felt like that was an important expenditure that was worthwhile," he said.

When it comes to picking earmark requests, Crawford's office puts a focus on projects "that will truly benefit Arkansans," particularly ideas that provide the largest impact on constituents, said Crawford spokeswoman Sara Robertson in a written statement.

Crawford represents Arkansas' 1st Congressional District, which covers northeast Arkansas and stretches south through the Delta on the state's eastern border. The district also covers parts of north central Arkansas.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs put in two highway earmark requests that would go to the Arkansas State Highway Commission.

Westerman's office, in a written statement, said he only considers earmark requests from public entities and gives priority to projects that "have a wide influence on the district and will provide service to as many constituents as possible."

Westerman represents the state's 4th Congressional District, which covers southwest Arkansas and parts of northwest Arkansas.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman of Rogers has submitted more than two dozen earmark requests for the 2023 fiscal year seeking tens of millions in funding.

The lawmaker is seeking eight-figure transportation earmarks but also smaller items, such as $500,000 for the construction and rehabilitation of riverfront infrastructure in Phillips County on the Mississippi River.

In a written statement, Boozman said he would continue to push for "Arkansas priorities" in the appropriations process for fiscal year 2023.

"I am committed to ensuring Arkansans' hard-earned tax dollars are used in a responsible manner and invested back into The Natural State to the greatest extent possible," he said.

Both the House and the Senate stopped the practice of using earmarks about a decade ago, movement that was driven by House Republicans who implemented a self-imposed ban on their members asking for earmarks, said Mark Harkins, senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University.

At the time, new Republicans in Congress campaigned on reining in federal government spending, and new congressional lawmakers were tied to the Tea Party movement, he said.

Banning House Republicans from pursuing earmarks was a good optical position for them to take, Harkins said.

Former House Speaker John Boehner and others have said that earmarks led Republican politicians to support spending measures that they might otherwise not, according to the Associated Press.

Last year, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut and chair of the House Appropriations Committee, announced that the chamber would bring back earmark proposals.

The next month, House Republicans voted to permit their congressional members to pursue earmarks, according to the Associated Press.

Hill of Little Rock said in a written statement that he has backed the House ban on earmarks.

"I believe the proposals my office receives are best funded through regular federal programs that already exist," he said in the statement. "I regularly work with public officials across my central Arkansas district on their federal priorities."

Others such as Kelly Johnson, chief operating officer for the Northwest Arkansas National Airport, are supportive of the earmarks.

"We don't look at these things as a waste of public money. These are great value for the asset they create for the public," she said.

One earmark request from Womack would provide millions to help replace the air traffic control tower at the airport.

The structure, which had been built as a temporary tower, was never intended to be a permanent control tower structure, Johnson said.

Constructed in the late 1990s, the temporary tower lacks Americans with Disability Act accessibility and does not have a fire control system, according to Womack's office.

Hill, Westerman, Boozman and Cotton were not available for an interview.


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