With the exception of Rep. Mike Cofffman, R-Aurora, Colorado members of the U.S. House requested more than $1 billion in earmarks for the 2010 fiscal year, according to disclosures they were required to file by the end of last week. Coffman has pledged not to request earmarks.
The disclosures are part of an effort to bring transparency to the budgeting process. A Sunlight Foundation analysis over the weekend found only 293 of the 434 House members met the deadline. The entire Colorado delegation met the deadline, though Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Fort Collins, was singled out because her disclosure was "hard to find."
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, requested 13 earmarks totaling $251 million. "There are good reasons to request direct funding for specific needs in the First Congressional District and elsewhere in Colorado, and I will seek targeted funding as the 2010 appropriations process gets underway," DeGette said on her site. "I will pursue a select few funding initiatives that create much needed jobs, make critical infrastructure improvements and support the Colorado institutions that strengthen our state."
Included in her requests were earmarks of $100 million for the FasTracks West Corridor Line between Denver and Golden; $95 million for rail between Union Station and DIA; and $31.5 million for the Gold Line from Denver to Arvada/Wheat. DeGette requested $12.2 million in earmarks for runway and other improvements at Denver International Airport and $2 million to build an interchange on Interstate 70 to serve Central Park Boulevard in the Stapleton neighborhood.
Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, had 16 earmark requests for a total of nearly $100 million. "It is Congressman Polis' policy to only submit appropriations requests for public and non-profit entities in Colorado," his website reads.
Projects that fit the bill included $48.8 million to purchase new buses for transit agencies across the state; $10 million for a pipeline connecting Carter Lake and Boulder Reservoir; $6 million for plug-in electric hybrid cars as part of Boulder's SmartGrid city program; and $40,000 for a non-profit that helps at-risk students manage the transition to college.
Rep. John Salazar, newly appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee, had 72 requests totaling about $239 million. "For too long, the process of Congressional funding requests lacked transparency and accountability, leading some members of Congress to abuse it and the public trust," he said.
Among his requests: $17 million for runway realignment at the Garfield County airport; $11.8 million for a new visitor center at Mesa Verde National Park; $10.8 million to implement bus rapid-transit improvements between Glenwood Springs and Aspen; $7 million for a new recycling facility in Durango; and $6 million for CoorsTek to develop transparent armor for military vehicles; Salazar has also asked that language be inserted in the bill that would prevent the Army from pursuing expansion at the Pinon Canyon training site.
Markey requested $19.5 million for 16 projects.
Markey has requested more than $11.4 million for projects at Colorado State University ranging from Geoscience/Atmospheric Research ($3 million) to study of the Russian Wheat Aphid ($425,000).
Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, had 20 requests for a total of $72.5 million.
His requests are all military-related, and include $8.9 million for an Airman and Family Readiness Center/Chapel at Schriever Air Force Base; $8.5 million to develop technology that preserves memory when satellites lose power in space; $5 million for an advisory group to review ballistic missile defense (BMD) education and training; and $3 million for a center at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs to provide support for mental health problems at Fort Carson.
Coffman will not make any earmark requests. "In an effort to establish fiscal responsibility in federal spending, I have pledged not to request any Appropriations earmarks," he said.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden, had 39 requests for a total of more than $369 million, though more than $200 million of that total earmarked for the Gold, East and West light rail lines. "I welcome this (new transparency) requirement and look forward to securing funding to help the hard working people of the 7th Congressional District," Perlmutter said.
Other requests include $48 million for new bus terminals throughout the state; $15 million for the Earth Energy Institute at the Colorado School of Mines; $13.2 million for an emergency management center at Front Range Airport; and $4.5 million to build a weapons release facility for the Colorado National Guard.