Wyden's, Merkley's Earmark Postings Fail to Include My Request?

I submitted an earmark proposal to both Senators Wyden and Merkley by their February 23, 2009, deadline. In the spirit of the new Congressional transparency rules, both Senators have now posted online all the earmark requests which they received. I cannot find my there.

Please help me find it. Senator Wyden’s lists are here. Senator Merkley’s lists are here.

This is most of what I put on the application:

Name of project: Oregon Mandarin Development Program

Requesting Organization: Dave Porter (citizen); Funding to Oregon Department of Education.

Project Description: To increase the number of Oregon K-12 public school students studying Mandarin for economic development, national security, global environmental protection and world peace purposes.

How will the funds be spent? (etc): (1) $350,000 to promote Mandarin statewide and develop curriculum for a variety of settings across Oregon. And (2) $1,600,000 for 5 Mandarin immersion startups at $300,000 each plus $100,000 to Dept. of Ed for administration. Intent is to have one in each congressional district, if possible. And (3) $550,000 for scholarships for sending Oregon high school students to study abroad in China for one month in the summer. FY 1 - $150,000 for 45 students. FY 2 - $300,000 for 90 students; plus $100,000 to the Dept of Ed for administration.

Federal Dollars Requested: $2,500,000.

I did have a telephone discussion with one staff member about the appropriateness of submitting a request where the funds would go to an organization (in this case, the Oregon Department of Education) that had not submitted the request. This, apparently, is not how earmarks usually work. I said the Oregon Department of Education knew I had submitted the earmark request and I did not think they would turn it down if funded. And further, that, if this was a problem, I knew of several Oregon non-profits that might be willing to accept and administer the funds. I heard no more.

My request should be there, somewhere. As Senator Wyden’s press release says:

The appropriations proposals being posted include every request received and have not been vetted or approved by the Senate offices. Wyden and Merkley decided to post every request that their offices received this year and ask for citizen input in an effort to give Oregonians a greater voice in determining federal spending priorities.  Not all of the requests received by the two senators will be submitted for funding consideration, and the senators will factor public support for appropriations projects into their decision-making.

I do not see my earmark request posted. I know it was received. Is it there? Or why is it not there?

It is important and should be funded as a strategic priority.

As part of the earmark proposal, I submitted a copy of “Developing the China Connection through Educational Programs.”  It closes with the following statement.

We as Oregonians can step forward, act boldly and with vision. Our children and their children will live in a very different world. We need to help them create their future. There are many contemporary crises (the Middle East, North Korea, terrorists, pandemics) but the central strategic and security issue of the 21^st century will be the emergence of China as a world power and how the United States and China relate to each other. If these two great powers can get along, many other problems are solvable. If not, nuclear war and societal chaos are not impossible. If we fail to act as boldly as we can--breaking a few educational, geo-political and funding mindsets—-future generations will stand in wonder at our failure. History sets hard standards and will not be kind to us or to our children if we fail. We in Oregon have an historic opportunity to act on the stage of world history. Few get such an opportunity. With vision, resolution and cooperation, let us seize this opportunity and meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.

 

 

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