Billions In Earmarks Inflate Defense Bill's Cost! This Is Why Bill's Get Delayed. This WASTE Has NOTHING To Do With Military Defense! This Money Should Be Spent On Our TROOPS! Part 2 of 2

San Francisco Gate

Billions in earmarks inflate defense bill's cost

written by Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, December 21, 2009

Spending to not spend

Pelosi's office defended the Presidio expenditure.

"The Heritage Center at the Officers' Club will introduce visitors to a series of exhibits, digital media, classrooms and programs about the Presidio and its role in the development of the American West," said Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly.

The Presidio expenditure presents an unusual irony. After the Presidio was included in a round of military base closures, Pelosi helped craft a public-private agreement to keep its valuable real estate from being carved up by developers. The congressional requirement promised that the park would be free of federal subsidies by 2013.

The $5 million earmark will fund close to 25 percent of the center's estimated renovation and help leverage other donations from corporations and foundations, said Tia Lombardi, director of public affairs at the Presidio Trust.

In other words, the trust needs federal subsidies to lure private investment - so it no longer has to rely on federal subsidies. The building, which dates to the early 1800s, is now used for exhibitions and events.

The proposed 20,000-square-foot center will highlight the historical significance of the Presidio, from its birth in 1776 under Spanish rule through its Mexican occupation, then as the vanguard of the U.S military's strategic command from 1846 through the 20th century.

"Our focus here," Lombardi said, "is to try to make this park work."

Bay Area earmarks

The $626 billion defense appropriations bill approved by Congress includes 1,720 earmarks worth $4.2 billion. Here are some earmarks from members of the Bay Area delegation:

$3.2 million

Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, above, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, and Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. The funds would be spent on what Honda described as the "long-overdue (environmental) remediation" of the former Almaden Air Force Station.

$2.4 million

Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. The funds would go to MicroAssembly Technologies, Inc. in Richmond to develop "an array of micro-machined switches" to help the Air Force Research Laboratories Space Vehicles Directorate develop a system for "rapidly building spacecraft," Miller said.

$1.6 million

Rep. Sam Farr, D-Monterey. The funds for the Monterey Institute of International Studies would "enable the DOD to develop in-home capacity for translation and interpretation skills more cost-effectively," Farr said.

$1.6 million

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland. The money would fund an electronic patient records system at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland. Lee said the new system could reduce costs by as much as 20 percent.