Earmarks Are Back, And Democrats Are Already Taking Advantage

House Democrats officially resurrected earmarks earlier this year, opening up the opportunity for members to make excessive spending requests and request funding for political pet projects in the budget process.

Members are allowed to submit up to 10 earmark requests per fiscal year, which have traditionally been used to secure taxpayer money and “bring home the bacon” for their congressional districts. 

Fox News obtained a list of 50 “eye-popping” earmark requests for the upcoming federal budget where members have requested $6 billion in extra funding for projects such as:

1. $436,100 for a “meditation and restorative yoga program” in New Jersey (Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J.)
   
   
2. $250,000 for an expansion of the Michelle Obama Library (Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán, D-Calif.)
   
   
3. $742,000 for a program partially featuring “inclusion and healthy discussions around difficult issues such as racism, gender discrimination and cultural bias” in New York (Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.)
   
   
4. $1,800,000 for LGBTQ affirming professional medical care in Virginia (Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va.)
   
   
5. $2,000,000 for a Pickleball and Fitness Circuit in a high-density community in Orange, California (Rep. J. Luis Correa, D-Calif.)

In other words, Democrats want to use your taxpayer dollars to fund their yoga programs, pickleball games, and LGBTQ-affirming medical services in their home states. Let that sink in.