Congress Members Fund Pet Projects Using $1.5 Trillion Omnibus

As inflation continues to be an issue for many in our nation, the new $1.5 trillion omnibus spending legislation includes earmarks for pet projects.

As earmarks are back both Republicans and Democrats have used them to fund pet projects in their home states, Fox News reported.

From $584,000 for “a self-reliant urban solar village” in Pennsylvania to a $300,000 Hawaiian tree census, here are some states where lawmakers bought items with your tax cash in the hastily passed appropriations omnibus bill last week that also included nearly $13 billion in aid for war-torn Ukraine.

Starting off the list of lawmakers behind eyebrow-raising taxpayer investments is the bedazzled Florida U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Democrat who earmarked $2.2 million to build a Bahamian Arts, History and Cultural Center in Coconut Grove, a part of Miami that Bahamians have lived in since the 1800s.

“Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., also got in on the gravy train, nabbing $1 million in taxpayer funding for “Afro-Latinx Immigrant COVID-19 Workforce ReEngagement in fiscal year 2022.”

Vulnerable Republican U.S. Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan also gave into the legislative peer pressure, requesting $50,000 for the “Asset, Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed (ALICE) Friendly Workplace Project” through the United Way of Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region.

“The purpose of the ALICE Friendly Workplace Project is to create workplaces for the ALICE population that are empathetic, equitable, and ultimately provide space for individuals to be able to step out of ALICE,” the congressman’s website said.

“Part of the project will be the development of an ALICE Friendly Workplace Toolkit that will guide employers to evaluate and change current policies that may be harming their employees,” it said. “The toolkit will be informed by local data and research about ALICE in the region.”

“All funding requests submitted were carefully reviewed within the strict rules of the committee in a fully transparent process,” the congressman said. “This information was made public nearly a year ago. What’s much more compelling is the Ukrainian humanitarian funding in the bill and the sad fact that only 39 GOP supported it.

The legislation caused an argument with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Republican Sen. Tom Cotton on Friday.

It happened after Sen. Cotton tweeted his support for sending more weapons to Ukraine to assist it in fighting Russia.

“No more timidity and half measures. It’s time to send Ukraine the weapons needed to end this invasion,” he said on Wednesday.

No more timidity and half measures.

It's time to send Ukraine the weapons needed to end this invasion.

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 16, 2022

Apparently, it got the attention of the White House as Psaki responded on Friday.

.@TomCottonAR had a chance last week to back his words with actions by voting for the security assistance for Ukraine that the President announced yesterday. He and 30 of his fellow Senate Republicans voted against that money, the oppress secretary said.

“Those 31 Republican Senators voted against: -$13.6 billion for Ukraine -800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems -9000 anti-tank weapons -7000 small arms -20 million rounds of ammunition Our assistance is making a difference on the ground, and the President is delivering more,” she said.

Those 31 Republican Senators voted against:
-$13.6 billion for Ukraine
-800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems
-9000 anti-tank weapons
-7000 small arms
-20 million rounds of ammunition

Our assistance is making a difference on the ground, and the President is delivering more

— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) March 18, 2022

Cotton responded to the tweet saying that it was not a simple bill to send aid to Ukraine, as Psaki appeared to indicate.

“The aid was <1% of an inflation-busting $1.5 trillion budget. It should have been sent *before* the invasion, but Biden blocked it to avoid offending Putin. @Pressec, why is Biden still buying Russian oil?” he said.

The aid was <1% of an inflation-busting $1.5 trillion budget.

It should have been sent *before* the invasion, but Biden blocked it to avoid offending Putin. @Pressec, why is Biden still buying Russian oil? https://t.co/58WTa1ygFV

— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) March 18, 2022

Newsweek reported:

The Senate passed a $1.5 trillion appropriations package on Thursday that included $13.6 billion in emergency humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion.

The legislation won bipartisan support but 31 Republican senators voted against the measure, with Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) saying he supported helping Ukraine but arguing the process was rushed. Other Republicans voiced similar concerns.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has now been going on for more than two weeks with Ukrainian forces offering strong resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for more international assistance.

About half of the $13.6 billion will be spent on military aid for Ukraine as well as the cost of sending U.S. troops to NATO countries in Europe amid the crisis. The rest will be used for humanitarian aid and economic assistance. That aid is just one aspect of the much larger bill, which will fund the U.S. government and avoid a shutdown.