Paul Ryan has record of pushing for and earmarking federal funds for his district
Five months ago, Rep. Paul Ryan reached out to the Transportation Department, urging that it look favorably upon his home town’s request for $3.8 million, which would help build a new city transit center.
That was the same project that four years ago received $735,000 in federal funds through an earmark Ryan (R-Wis.) had secured.
The Republican vice presidential candidate has often used the powers of his office over his 13 years in Congress to seek federal funds for his Wisconsin district, sometimes from existing pools of money and other times in ways that would increase federal spending. His success has meant funding for projects ranging from a runway extension at a local airport to an environmental study of the Kenosha Harbor.
There’s nothing illegal or even unusual about what Ryan has done — in fact, it’s the essence of what many congressmen do and what many of their constituents expect. But it complicates the image that Ryan, and now the Romney campaign, have sought to project of a man who is single-mindedly focused on sharply cutting the federal budget and erasing the nation’s deficit.
more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ryan-has-record-of-pushing-for-and-earmarking-federal-funds-for-his-district/2012/08/17/92c099dc-e874-11e1-936a-b801f1abab19_story.html
