Slashing earmarks could hurt innocents [View All]

WASHINGTON - When Democrats announced a moratorium on all so-called earmarks to clean up corruption heading into the 110th Congress, they might not have realized they would be withholding funds from a popular and worthy nonprofit organization like Southern Nevada's Opportunity Village.

The organization, which provides job training and placement for developmentally disabled youths and adults, was counting on $500,000 tucked inside the massive Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill pending before Congress to help fund its new campus in southwest Las Vegas.

But that allocation and more than 10,000 other pet projects of members of Congress will be on hold as Democrats fulfill a campaign promise to curtail earmarks, special funding slipped at the last minute into bills for projects in lawmakers' states or home districts, often without the sponsor's name attached.

The incoming chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations committees jointly announced last week that no earmarks would be allowed for fiscal 2007 as new "transparency and accountability" rules are established for 2008.

Ed Guthrie, executive director of Opportunity Village, is disappointed that his earmark is being stalled, but said if it "gets stopped this year, we'll try again."

Guthrie is all for earmark reform to clean up Washington, but argues that programs like his are not the problem.

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http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2006/dec/18/566631869.html