By David Beard, The Dominion Post
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Earmarks have returned to Congress and Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin — both Appropriations Committee members — have put out their lists of West Virginia earmarks included in the recently passed $1.7 trillion Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus bill.
Capito’s earmarks total $250,950,000 and Manchin’s total $228,022,000. There is considerable overlap between their lists, as they made many of their requests jointly, but both lists include projects requested by just one or the other.
Today we take a look at the senators’ earmarks for the Monongalia-Preston-Marion area, after some brief background.
Background
Congress suspended earmarks in 2011 because they had gained an unsavory reputation as pointless pork spending aimed at buying votes. But earmarks never actually went away, the Project on Government Oversight argues; the number was reduced while the cost for each increased and the process became far-less transparent and accountable…
To read more: https://www.dominionpost.com/2023/01/05/a-look-at-manchin-and-capito-earmarks-for-local-projects-from-1-7t-federal-budget/
