Biden budget allows Democrats to try to buy votes with your money

 Washington Examiner:

President Biden’s $1.5 trillion government funding bill funnels millions of dollars in pork to vulnerable Democrats in November’s midterm elections while benefiting Republicans who helped secure its passage.

Mr. Biden’s 2,741-page budget bill, which passed with bipartisan support last week, was the first in more than a decade to include earmarks. The discretionary spending measures were long banned under Republican control of Congress but returned last year under Democrats’ unified control of the House and the Senate.

Although Republicans also benefit from the budget’s allotments, some of the biggest winners from the inclusion of $8 billion in earmarks are Democrats facing tough reelection challenges. Sen. Raphael G. Warnock, for instance, inserted earmarks worth roughly $95 million to fund pet projects in his home state of Georgia.
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The money is primarily for infrastructure projects and grants to local governments and nonprofits, including $1 million for a Georgia county to index land records for historical preservation.

Political strategists say the return of earmarks presents a boon for vulnerable Democrats, who can now tout their ability to bring money home for constituents. The political value of earmarks is considered especially significant for lawmakers without seniority or leadership positions.

“Earmarks could literally alter the outcome of the 2022 election because freshmen or junior members who otherwise cannot pass legislation or add budget riders have the chance to secure multiple, multimillion-dollar projects,” said Colin Strother, a Texas-based Democratic consultant.

Nearly all Democrats seeking reelection this year secured earmarks for their districts.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Nevada Democrat who won her seat in 2016 by a slim 27,000 votes, inserted a total of 53 earmarks. That included $500,000 for horse management at the Nevada Department of Agriculture and $4.8 million for a fleet of zero-emission buses in the Las Vegas region.
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Earmarks are mainly used by Democrats to fund local projects as a vote-buying scheme.  They are a form of corruption that the US gets when it elects Democrats to control Congress. Hopefully the coming shellacking the Democrats are about to get will reverse that policy when Republicans take control.

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