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House members recently met a deadline for disclosing what earmarks they were requesting in the next budget — one that, in theory, will run the federal government from October of this year through much of 2010.

Earmarks — special appropriations that go back to a congressman’s district — have become the subject of pundit ridicule and constituent ire in recent years. But one congressman’s pork is another’s vital economic development project.

“You don’t want all federal spending to be decided by nameless and faceless bureaucrats that have no way of knowing what the needs are in districts around the country,” said Ed McDonald, chief of staff for Rep. Howard Coble, a Greensboro Republican. “This is a representative democracy, and that is the role they’re playing.”

McDonald said Coble’s office scrutinizes earmarks thoroughly before submitting them to the Appropriations Committee for consideration. Staff members for the committee also examine the requests.

Coble’s office has changed its procedure for vetting spending requests this year, McDonald said. Those making the request have to show how it would create or save jobs directly in the 6th Congressional District before Coble will sign on.

For example, Greensboro-based RF Micro Devices has offices around the world and has been moving some operations overseas.

“They were among the ones that had to prove the operations that would benefit were in Greensboro,” McDonald said.

Congressmen usually don’t get everything they want — McDonald said it’s rare for an earmark to be funded at the amount requested — and some congressman have decided to eschew earmarks entirely. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Winston-Salem Republican, is among those who refuses to put in for district spending.

Senators will have to report their earmarks later this year.

A sampling of some of the earmarks requested by Coble and Reps. Brad Miller and Mel Watt, who represent parts of Guilford County:

Coble

• $3 million to the city of High Point for the High Point Greenway. “The purpose of this project is to complete the remaining 1.1 miles of the 3.8-mile-long greenway, which will serve as an asphalt trail suitable for walking, jogging, bicycling and other recreational activities,” reads the request filed by Coble with congressional budget writers.
• $247,000 for the Mental Health Association in High Point to upgrade facilities. “One of only two facilities providing services to the mentally ill in the High Point area, dollars will allow them to upgrade and expand their capability in meeting individuals’ needs.”
• $6 million from the Navy Research and Development account and the Air Force Research and Development account for RF Micro Devices’ Gallium Nitride RF Power Technology. This is one of several earmarks Coble has requested for RF Micro.

“This project supports gallium nitride-based microelectronic semiconductor technology, which is important to the development of many advanced defense systems.”

l$165,520 for UNCG’s On Track — Learn Math Project, whose purpose is “to develop a reform-based, problem-solving mathematics enrichment program for use in after-school settings with elementary school-aged children.”

Miller

• $1 million for N.C. A&T’s Cattails as an Alternative Crop for Biofuels Production program. “Cattails have the potential to mitigate the effects of livestock waste ... and to produce a renewable source of liquid fuel.”
• $103,000 for Guilford College to enhance technical expertise in forensics in Guilford County by improving “the technical training and skill level of Guilford County adults seeking employment in the field of forensics.”

Watt

• $600,000 for Bennett College for Women to “establish a Center for Women’s Leadership, focusing on personal and professional development.”
• $2 million to the city of High Point for the Washington Drive streetscape. The project is the first step in the “Washington Drive District Plan to attract new businesses and visitors to this economically depressed and deteriorated area.”

Burr removes hold

We reported last week that Sen. Richard Burr had put a hold on the nomination of Tammy Duckworth, an injured Iraq war veteran who was tapped by President Barack Obama to be assistant secretary of veterans affairs.

Multiple news outlets, including Raleigh’s News & Observer, report that the hold has been removed and the nomination can go forward when Congress returns from its spring recess next week.

No votes

Congress has been on recess for the past week, so there are no votes to report.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com