Published: May 16, 2009 10:01 pm      

Earmarked disappointment

U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., last week released details on 69 earmark requests, totaling over $119 million, for projects and services in the 1st Congressional District for FY 2010, which begins Oct. 1, 2009 and ends Sept. 30, 2010.

Mollohan and all other members of the House of Representatives have posted their remarks publicly, in accordance with new federal regulations reflecting a more open approach to what has been criticized by some as “pork barrel spending.”

Mollohan represents 20 counties which make up the 1st Congressional District — Marion, Harrison, Monongalia and Taylor are among them. Fairmont and Marion County are Mollohan’s home city and county.

West Virginia’s two other congressional representatives also submitted their requests. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., represents the 2nd Congressional District. She requested 87 earmarks totaling over $220 million. Nick Joe Rahall, D-W.Va., represents the 3rd Congressional District. He requested 47 earmarks totaling over $404 million.

Which means despite his ranking position on the House Appropriations Committee, Mollohan once again ranks last in terms of total earmark funds secured for his district.

Of Mollohan’s $119 million in earmark requests, Marion County is slated to receive only $100,000 — which is disappointing.

Obviously, Marion County has done well by Mollohan in the past. The congressman told the Times West Virginian that federal funding through the earmarking process tends to balance out over time. He commented that Marion County ranks at the top or near the top in the funding process during his term in office.

No one can dispute that Mollohan has steered hundreds of millions of dollars toward the creation and growth of a growing high-tech industry in Marion County. This has served to help change the economic landscape in North Central West Virginia from one dependent on manufacturing and extraction industries to one that is much more diversified today.

As a result, the I-79 Corridor has weathered the current economic storm much better than the rest of the nation.

But to count these specific high-tech earmarks as Marion County-only projects is simply not fair. Many of the people employed in our high-tech sector commute from Monongalia and Harrison counties where they live. Therefore, those communities benefit as much if not more from what is counted as Marion County earmarks.

The truth is that Marion County has other needs too.

Mollohan is seeking $1.3 million for water system improvements for the City of Glenville.

It is fair to say that the City of Fairmont has more than its fair share of water improvement needs. The customers of the Fairmont Water Department certainly have been tapped out through the implementation of five water rate hikes trying to get the so-called state-of-the-art system to work as advertised.

Mollohan is seeking $3 million for a riverfront project for the City of Parkersburg.

It is fair to say that the City of Fairmont has had its own riverfront project in the planning stages for a number of years waiting for a willing private developer to make our dreams come true. $3 million would go a long way in jump-starting that project and making it much more desirable for private developers.

Mollohan is seeking $15.6 million for projects at West Virginia University, Glenville State College, Wheeling Jesuit University and West Liberty State College.

It is fair to say that Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College have their own needs, especially when it comes to educating and training a local workforce that has the highest rate of in-state post-graduate employment among all colleges and universities in the state.

We are certain that incoming FSU President Dr. Thomas Krepel will be working with the congressman to identify those needs and to seek support for federal funding in the future.

All things considered, it is fair to say that a congressman’s work is never done. To the voters it is more of a matter of “what have you done for me lately?”

Over the past two years, Marion County seems to have come up on the short end of Congressman Mollohan’s funding requests. Perhaps in the near future we will see other federal funding come Marion County’s way. Then voters can go to the polls next year with confidence that their congressman is once again “bringing home the bacon.”