Daschle earmark under fire

Bill would set aside $1 million for Daschle center at SDSU

By Journal staff and wire services | Wednesday, November 07, 2007

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WASHINGTON -- Despite criticism from Republicans, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said he doesn't object to a $1 million earmark naming a public policy center after him.

Republican Reps. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Jeb Hensarling of Texas complained about the last-minute provision, which was inserted into a health, education and veterans spending bill.

Late Tuesday, Flake unsuccessfully attempted to block the bill because of the earmarks.

Hensarling said he would hope that Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, would "respectfully request that funding for his center be removed from this bill."

Daschle said Tuesday in an interview with The Associated Press that federal funding for such a center is nothing new, noting that many other lawmakers have schools named after them. The center at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD, would create opportunities for young people to become more involved in public service, he said.

"One of the most important things I would like to do is to encourage people to be involved in public service and public policy," he said.

The institute, which would also receive private donations, would be called the Thomas Daschle Center for Public Service and Representative Democracy. It would hold Daschle's Senate papers, host speakers and educate students, Daschle said.

The earmark was sponsored by Sens. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. and other senators.

Hensarling angrily denounced the earmark.

"To corrupt a bill intended to fund veterans' services with entities like the 'Thomas Daschle Center for Public Service' is an insult to those who have worn our nation's uniform," Hensarling said.

Johnson spokeswoman Julianne Fisher defended the project, saying Daschle "played a critical role in our nation as the Democratic leader in the Senate for a decade and throughout his career in Congress."

She added that there is a history in Congress of supporting similar projects, including $6 million for the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas in the 1999 budget year.

Daschle lost re-election in 2004 to Republican John Thune, who said he is not concerned with the merits of the provision but the way it was put into the bill.

"This practice of inserting special earmarks into spending bills late in the process without them being vetted and debated through regular order is exactly the type of maneuver that Congress voted to end earlier this year with the passage of the ethics and lobbying reform bill," Thune said.

Thune said he is "far more concerned" that the spending bill does not include the full $6.8 million he added to improve tele-health resources throughout farm country.

Despite that funding, Thune voted against the spending bill in the Senate, arguing that there was too much wasteful spending in the legislation.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., has reservations about the number of projects that were inserted into the spending measure during conference committee, but she supports the funding for the Daschle center, spokesman Russ Levsen said.

Levsen said Herseth Sandlin is confident that funds will be used wisely to benefit SDSU and the entire state.

"She is very supportive of the project, which will enhance the educational experience for our state's students and improve the course offerings of one of our state's premier universities," Levsen said. "As a South Dakota State graduate, it's fitting that Sen. Daschle's papers be archived in Brookings."