Collin County congressmen bringing home pork with appropriations requests

by Bill Baumbach of The Collin County Observer

New congressional Appropriation rules require that all congressmen adding earmarks to the appropriations bill list the amounts requested and the beneficiaries of the earmarked funds.

This year, our two congressmen have requested a total of almost $29 million of which $14 million is slated for programs in Collin County.

Significantly, at least to this author, none of the earmark requests target our greatest need - transportation projects. Instead most of the largest earmarks are slated to go to local companies that are developing weapons systems.

Are Representatives Sam Johnson and Ralph Hall bringing home the bacon, or just the pork?

Congressional District 3, Sam Johnson (R-Plano):

Plano (Microfab Technologies) - Bio-printing of new skin for battlefield burn repairs

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Garland - Remote aiming and sighting optical retrofit (RASOR)

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Allen (Mustang Technology Group) - MTI Scout radar

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

McKinney (Raytheon) - Current Force Common Active Protection System (APS) Radar for the Army’s Combat Vehicle Improvement Programs

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Richardson (Rockwall Collins) - E-6B Strategic Communications Upgrade (VLF-TX and HPTS)

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Plano (SVTronics) - Mobile Oxygen, Ventilation, and External Suction (MOVES) System for the Navy and Marine Corps

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Richardson (UTD) - Center for Energy Storage Research at University of Texas – Dallas

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Lubbock - Funding for the National Virtual Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University.

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Sam Johnson total 2010 earmarks - $9,000,000

To Collin County - $7,000,000

Congressional District 4, Ralph Hall (R-Rockwall):

Lubbock - Engineering Support for Extended Human and Robotic Space Flight Missions

Amount Requested: $400,000

Commerce - Advance Artificial Science and Engineering Research Infrastructure

Amount Requested: $300,000

Tulsa, OK - Lake Texoma Shoreline Management Plan - WRDA – City of Denison

Amount Requested: $500,000

Tulsa, OK - Red River Chloride Control Project, TX & OK

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Vicksburg, MS - Red River Navigation, Southwest Arkansas, AR

Amount Requested: $150,000

Shreveport, LA - Sulphur River Basin, TX

Amount Requested: $500,000

Mt. Pleasant - Communities In Schools of Northeast Texas

Amount Requested: $200,000

Greenville - Greenville Community Health Center Expansion

Amount Requested: $300,000

Commerce - Improving STEM Skills for Rural Youth in Northeast Texas

Amount Requested: $150,000

Bonham - Sam Rayburn Library and Museum

Amount Requested: $250,000

Houston - I-69 Texas

Amount Requested: $500,000

Texarkana - Texarkana Regional Airport

Amount Requested: $1,500,000

McKinney - Completion of North Central Texas Fusion System

Amount Requested: $500,000

Texarkana - Chemical Mechanical Self Destruct Fuze

Amount Requested: $1,500,000

McKinney (Raytheon) - Current Force Common Active Protection System (APS) Radar

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Princeton (Contract Fabrication & Design, LLC) - M-240 High Capacity Feed System (HCFS)

Amount Requested: $1,500,000

Allen (Mustang Technology Group) - MTI Scout Radar

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Denison - Predictive Casting Process Modeling fo Rapid Production of Critical Defense Components

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Rockwall - Riverine Monitoring and Interdiction System (RMIS)

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Greenville - Rivet Joint Services Oriented Architecture

Amount Requested: $2,500,000

McKinney (Hie Electronics) - TeraStack Pilot for Army Telemedice (TPA)

Amount Request: $2,000,000

Ralph Hall 2010 earmarks - $19,750,000

To Collin County - $7,000,000