Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006--
TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE JUDICIARY, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006--CONFERENCE REPORT
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Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, Congress has a moral obligation to make difficult decisions about spending priorities as we fight the war on terror, recover from natural disasters, and struggle to shore up Medicare and Social Security. Last year in fiscal year 2005 our national debt increased by $538 billion, or $1,738 per man, woman and child in this country.
The American people, therefore, are justifiably outraged when Congress engages in an earmark spending free-for-all. Pork projects tend to be allocated outside of the regular priority-setting debate that governs the rest of the budget process. This is wrong. Members of this body should not be asking what right one Senator might have to question another Senator's projects. Instead, we should be listening to the American people who are asking what right we have to force them to finance questionable projects in all 50 States. Every pork project should be balanced against other national priorities. Pork is not a civil right for politicians.
This bill contains more than 1,100 earmarks. Some of those earmarks inc1ude: $150,000 for the Alaska Botanical Garden in Anchorage, Alaska for expansion and renovation of its infrastructure; $750,000 for the construction of the Tongass Coast Aquarium; $100,000 to the city of Guntersville, for renovations to the Whole Backstage Theater; $250,000 for the Greenville Family YMCA for child care facility acquisition, renovation, and construction in Greenville, Alabama; $200,000 for the Hayneville Lowndes County Library Foundation for construction of a new library in Hayneville, Alabama; $250,000 for the Cleveland Avenue YMCA for facility expansion in Montgomery, Alabama; $150,000 to the El Dorado Public Schools in El Dorado, Arkansas for the expansion of a recreational field; $200,000 for Audubon Arkansas for the development of the Audubon Nature Center at Gillam Park in Little Rock, Arkansas; $350,000 to the City of Douglas, Arizona for facilities renovation of the Grand Theater; $350,000 to Valley of the Sun YMCA in Phoenix, Arizona for facilities construction of a YMCA; $250,000 to the City of Banning, CA for city pool improvements;
$350,000 to the City of Beaumont, CA for the construction of the Beaumont Sports Park; $350,000 to the City of E1 Monte, California for construction of a community gymnasium; $250,000 to the City of Lancaster, California for installations related to the baseball complex; $150,000 to the City of Long Beach, California to develop an exhibit to educate the public on the importance of ports; $200,000 to the City of Placerville, California for Gold Bug Park renovations; $100,000 to the City of San Bernardino, California for Renovations to National Orange Show stadium; $125,000 to the City of Tehachapi, California for design and construction of a performing arts center; $350,000 to the City of Yucaipa, California for development of the Yucaipa Valley Regional Sports Complex; $250,000 to the Lake County Arts Council in Lakeport, California for renovation of the Lakeport Cinema to a Performing Arts Center; $175,000 for the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums, CAY for M.H. de Young Memorial Museum construction; $350,000 to the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut for relocation of the Music and Arts Center for the Humanities to a now-vacant department store; $300,000 to the University of Hartford in Hartford, Connecticut for facilities construction and renovation of the Hartt Performing Arts Center; $250,000 for the Town of Southbury, CT, for renovations to the Bent of the River Audubon Center; $200,000 to Lake County, FL for construction of a library; $96,300 to the City of Coral Gables, Florida for the renovation of historic Biltmore Hotel; $200,000 to the City of Ft. Myers, Florida for the redevelopment of Edson & Ford Estates; $200,000 to the City of Hollywood, Florida for the construction and development of the Young Circle Arts Park project; $100,000 to the City of Pensacola, Florida for construction of the YMCA of Greater Pensacola; $125,000 to the City of Treasure Island, Florida for construction of beach walkovers; $250,000 for Miami Dade County, Florida for the Miami Performing Arts Center; $75,000 to the City of Tybee Island, Georgia for a new facility for the Georgia 4-H Foundation; $300,000 for the Kauai YMCA to construct facilities; $150,000 to Seguin Services in Cicero, Illinois for construction of a garden center; $80,000 to the City of Beardstown, Illinois for construction of the Grand Opera House Beardstown Historical Society; $250,000 to the City of Joliet, Illinois for repairs to Rialto Square Theater; $250,000 to the City of Peoria, Illinois for design and construction of Africa exhibit at Glen Oak Zoo;
$500,000 for the City of Muncie, Indiana to revitalize the downtown urban park; $250,000 for the Learning Collaborative to implement the Web Portal Technology Development Initiative in Daviess County, IN; $150,000 to Hardin County, Kentucky for renovation of an historic state theater; $150,000 to Powell County Fiscal Court in Powell County, Kentucky for the construction and development of a park; $100,000 to the City of Louisville, Kentucky for construction of a playground in Shawnee Park; $600,000 for the Kentucky Commerce Cabinet to develop a visitor center at the Big Bone Lick State Park; $500,000 for the Audubon Nature Institute for the Audubon Living Science Museum and Wetlands Center in New Orleans, Louisiana; $100,000 to Greenfield Community College in Greenfield, Massachusetts for a feasibility study; $280,000 for the City of North Adams, MA for the renovation of the historic Mohawk Theater; $260,000 for the City of Lawrence, MA for the redevelopment of the Lawrence In-Town Mall site; $200,000 for the American Visionary Arts Museum, Maryland $350,000 to the City of Saginaw, Michigan for renovation of the YMCA of Saginaw; $250,000 to Walsh College in the City of Troy, Michigan for a library expansion; $500,000 to the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri for the construction of a new school for visual and performing arts at Southeast Missouri State University; $200,000 to the City of Meridian, Mississippi for the construction of the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center; and $750,000 to the City of Pontotoc, Mississippi for construction of the Pontotoc County Sportsplex.
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