Prince William County and Manassas may receive federal funding this year for several major transportation, water and public safety initiatives under a recently revived congressional process called “earmarks.”
Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-11th, and Jennifer Wexton, D-10th, who represent parts of Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, each announced a list of 13 proposals they submitted to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration on Friday, April 30 – including seven that would benefit Prince William and Manassas.
Wexton is requesting $7 million for the Mathis Avenue revitalization project in Manassas; $2.4 million to replace 10% of Manassas City’s aging water mains; $270,000 to establish a mental health and domestic violence case management team for the City of Manassas Police Department; and $250,000 for an independent use-of-force report for the Prince William County Police Department.
Connolly, who represents the eastern side of Prince William, is requesting $6 million for interchange improvements at Old Bridge Road and Gordon Boulevard in Woodbridge; $950,000 for a Prince William County climate change impact analysis; and $800,000 to transition Prince William County to its own, independently run health department.
"The projects I've requested would help to restore and rebuild our physical infrastructure, improve critical community services and invest in new educational and job opportunities,” Wexton said in a press release.
Earmarks, formerly known as “congressionally directed spending,” were banned in 2010 following corruption scandals that sent several elected officials to prison. Democratic leaders elected to bring them back in 2021 under the name “community project funding” over objections of some House and Senate Republicans.
Each U.S. House Representative can select up to 10 earmarks and several additional transportation projects to benefit nonprofits and governmental entities – but only a handful may actually receive funding.
Congress has allotted up to 1% of federal discretionary spending, or about $15 billion, for local earmarks in the fiscal year 2022.
Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, who represents a large portion of Prince William County, opted not to participate in the process. A spokesman for Wittman’s office said the congressman will continue to advocate for local initiatives “through the traditional appropriations process.”
“In Congressman Wittman’s opinion, the new process is untested and rushed,” Communications Manager Brandon Wear said in an email.
Prince William County submitted a total of 18 earmark proposals to the county’s congressional delegation last month, according to emails obtained via Freedom of Information Act request. The criteria for selecting local projects needed to include “proven community support,” according to emails sent from staff to county supervisors.
Wexton and Connolly selected four of those projects to be considered in this year’s budget process. Projects not selected included a proposal for a solar array on a county government building, several stream restorations, a new homeless shelter and a mental health crisis stabilization center, among others.
The full list of earmark proposals for Wexton and Connolly are available at their websites, here and here.
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May 04, 2021 at 07:50PM
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Congressional earmarks are back. Here's what might get funded in Prince William, Manassas - Prince William Times
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