thebigp

The number of earmarks in the FY 2018 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act increased by 50 percent, from four in FY 2017 to six in FY 2018. The cost of the earmarks increased by 26.1 percent, from $222.8 million in FY 2017 to $281 million in FY 2018.
$66,500,000 for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a private, nonprofit foundation that aims to help grow and strengthen democratic institutions around the world. Since FY 1997, NED has received eight earmarks worth a total of $345.7 million.
$17,000,000 for the Asia Foundation, which is “committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia.” The $17 million earmarked in FY 2018 is a 240 percent increase over the $5 million in FY 2017, and the largest earmark ever for this program. Since FY 1997, members of Congress have directed 12 earmarks totaling $81.6 million to the Asia Foundation.
The foundation has a $96.5 million annual budget, meaning the earmark represents 17.6 percent of its income. The organization had 387 donors between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017, composed of 76 corporations and organizations, 36 government agencies, and 251 individuals. The entity should rely solely on these private sources of income.
Both the FY 2018 and 2019 versions of President Trump’s Major Savings and Reforms proposed eliminating funding for the Asia Foundation.
$16,700,000 for the East-West Center in Hawaii, a 183.1 percent increase over the $5.9 million earmarked in FY 2017, and the largest earmark ever for the center.
After Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) passed away in 2013, Senate Appropriations Committee member Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) took over as the center’s champion. In a March 22, 2018 press release, Sen. Schatz claimed credit for securing $16.7 million in funding, “despite President Trump’s proposed elimination.
Following that logic, the East-West Center should be funded by the private sector as well. It probably would be, except the center is in the state of a Senate appropriator. Since FY 1997, the East-West Center has received 15 earmarks totaling $154.9 million.
Both the FY 2018 and 2019 versions of President Trump’s Major Savings and Reforms proposed eliminating funding for the East-West Center.
$12,485,000 for international fisheries commissions (IFCs), a 149.3 percent increase from the $5,009,000 when IFCs last received an earmark in FY 2012, and the largest amount ever for the IFCs.
Made up of various marine conservation organizations and commissions, IFCs have received eight earmarks totaling $31.2 million since FY 1997. Congress should let taxpayers off the hook and tell the IFCs to go fish for money elsewhere.