First District Earmarks

Many constituents are interested in federal "earmarks" and how they work. The responsible application of earmarked funds, which are federal resources designated for local projects of high public purpose, can have widespread benefits for our state, our communities, and our nation.

In making such requests, my office seeks to use taxpayer dollars prudently considering cost-benefit analyses and community support. A questionnaire given to those submitting earmark requests to my office may be viewed here. A majority of my requests support higher education, alternative energy, medical research, military construction, environmental protection and infrastructure, and transportation and community development initiatives that have regional and national benefits. The federal appropriations process is lengthy and complicated, involving 12 separate bills. Once earmark requests are reviewed and funded in the legislative process, they are posted on this website.

For your information, below is a categorized list of the First District earmarks requested by my office and included in the FY 2010 House appropriations legislation.

Agriculture:

University of Nebraska-Lincoln/Agricultural Research Service Research Facility:  $3,760,000   

Funding to be used toward construction of a University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL)/Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Research Facility.  This facility would provide critically needed space for UNL and ARS research addressing two areas of national concern: renewable energy and water resource conservation and management. Agriculture is expected to provide almost 40 percent of the nation’s liquid fuels within 30 years. This will further intensify demands on our soil and water resources. UNL and ARS scientists have been collaborating at UNL since the 1930s. Very strong collaborative programs continue today, including the ARS program at UNL that has been developing improved switchgrass varieties for 30 years and is the leading program in the world on the use of switchgrass for cellulosic ethanol. These scientists are scattered across the UNL campus and the proposed building will enable them to share collaborative, cutting-edge research space that will move this important research forward more rapidly. This project would advance major research focused on essential national efforts.

National Drought Mitigation Center:  $600,000

Funding for the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) which conducts research and educational programs on drought mitigation and planning for drought.  The project has assisted numerous states and municipalities in developing drought plans and implementing drought response action teams.  The Center has received national visibility for providing information on the severity of drought throughout the United States.  Both print and electronic mass media routinely use Center produced materials in their news stories on the drought.  

The NDMC’s program is directed at lessening societal vulnerability to drought through a risk-based management approach.  The NDMC works with local, state, and tribal governments, federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations.  The objectives of the NDMC are: (1) to develop and evaluate existing drought policies and plans in the United States and elsewhere with the goal of improving drought-coping capacity and (2) to develop and evaluate new techniques and methodologies for monitoring drought severity and its impacts, identifying and classifying users in the United States and elsewhere.  


Defense:

Understanding Blast-Induced Brain Injury:  $2.4 million

Most of the head and brain injuries occurring in current combat situations result from roadside explosions, but there is currently only limited understanding of blast-induced traumatic brain injury.  This funding would be used to model how blast waves from explosions cause short- and long-term brain injury to warfighters and to develop devices and equipment to mitigate the damage. This research will lead to devices for improved detection and optimized equipment designs to protect against multiple insults to the brain from the blast impact and blast waves.

The University of Nebraska - Lincoln is a national leader in modeling the effects of blast on materials and offers extensive expertise and facilities for modeling and testing materials.  This project builds on the University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s expertise in bio-nano materials and computation and simulation.

Safeguarding End-User Military Software:  $4 million

Military software increasingly is being created by “end-user programmers,” who use programming tools such as spreadsheets, military planning systems, and Matlab simulations to create software. This unvalidated software runs critical day-to-day operations and often is not dependable. The funding would be used to develop advanced software engineering safeguards that can be embedded in software programmed by military personnel to help them prevent and detect errors and produce more dependable military systems that save lives and money. Prototype safeguards implementing algorithms and mechanisms will be built and validated through carefully designed studies. These safeguards will be convenient for users and help them reason through the dependability of software as they develop it, protecting programmers and operators from errors and saving millions of dollars in programming development costs.  This project will also build on the University of Nebraska – Lincoln’s strength in the field of software engineering.  


Energy and Water Development:

Antelope Creek Flood Damage Reduction Project:  $5,382,000  

The Antelope Creek Flood Damage Reduction Project is a critical element of a flood control, transportation and community revitalization project know as the Antelope Valley Project.  The project is being constructed in central Lincoln adjacent to the University of Nebraska Lincoln main campus to improve flood control, transportation networks and community well-being in the city’s downtown area.  Essential to progress on the entire Antelope Valley Project is the completion of the flood damage reduction component.

This multi-purpose project is a partnership of the City of Lincoln, the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.  The project reduces flooding threats to over 800 dwellings and businesses and 1,200 floodplain residents and removes 100-year floodplain restrictions on 400 acres.

Fremont Section 205 Flood Control Study: No amount specified

The funds would be used to complete the Fremont South Section 205 Flood Control Study.  Funding for this Section 205 project will continue urgent feasibility planning to strengthen an existing flood control levee in order to keep a portion of South Fremont, Inglewood and the Dodge County Industrial Park out of the 100 year flood plain.  Due to remapping this Fremont South area will be soon identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as within the designated flood plain.  The total cost of the study is split equally between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the non-federal sponsor.  

Schuyler Section 205 Flood Control Study:  No amount specified
This funding under the Section 205 authority would continue the Schuyler, Nebraska Flood Control Study.  The purpose of the study is to plan for mitigation of flooding in 40% of the city which is anticipated to be placed in the flood plain for the first time when designated by Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The total cost of the study split equally between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the non-federal sponsor.  

Sustainable Energy Options for Rural Nebraska:  $500,000

This funding would be used to research the most effective sustainable energy options for rural Nebraska and to establish demonstration sites which will include the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff, the West Central Water Resources Field Lab near North Platte, the Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory near Whitman, and two sites in eastern Nebraska. Alternative energy technologies to be considered include wind, solar, anaerobic digestion (methane generation), gasification, direct burning of biomass, fuel cells, diesel engines converted to high compression ethanol engines, hybrid vehicles, and flex-fueled engines. Fuels to be considered include gasoline, diesel fuel, ethanol, biodiesel, dimethyl ether, butanol, and syngas.

At each of the demonstration sites, the objectives will be to: 1) model energy sources and consumption, 2) install and demonstrate optimal sustainable energy production technologies, and 3) establish alternative energy crop demonstration plots. These technologies can be especially useful to farms, ranches, and rural communities, which can provide the feedstocks and resources required. Well-designed projects demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of green technologies can support the growth of energy-related industries in Nebraska, enhancing the state’s rural economy. Demonstration projects will promote alternative energy use by providing dollars and sense information on the viability of the technologies.

Switchgrass Biofuel Research:  Carbon Sequestration and Life Cycle Analysis:
$500,000

The funding would be used to establish a production-scale switchgrass carbon sequestration and life cycle analysis research program. Research will focus on optimizing switchgrass production for use as a biofuel and developing improved life cycle analysis tools to determine greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for federal compliance certification of refineries processing switchgrass into ethnaol.

In the Midwest, switchgrass appears to be the most viable cellulosic feedstock for biofuels because it is a highly productive native grass species. The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) requires that switchgrass biofuel systems meet a threshold reduction in GHG emissions of 60% compared to gasoline, and the Environmental Protection Agency will establish regulations based on the best available science. Initial life cycle analyses suggest switchgrass systems will only meet EISA thresholds if they sequester a substantial amount of carbon in soil. This analysis could be altered if switchgrass producers increase inputs (water, fertilizer, etc). Quantifying switchgrass carbon sequestration under varying input requirements is vital to developing this source of cellulosic ethanol.


Labor-HHS-Education:

Special Olympics:  $350,000

The 2010 USA National Games for Special Olympics will be taking place July 18-23, 2010, in Lincoln, Nebraska.  This will be the largest sporting event, to date, in the state of Nebraska and offers a great opportunity to make an economic, humanitarian, and educational impact upon Nebraskan communities as well as on the national landscape.

Special Olympics offers year-round sports training and competition opportunities for both children and adults with an intellectual disability, giving them the opportunity to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and become integrated and valued members of our society.  There will be 3,000 athletes, 1,000 coaches, 8,000 volunteers, and an estimated 15,000 family and friends in Lincoln and Omaha during the week of the games.  The games are projected to generate $40 million in local economic impact and an additional $5 million in tax revenue alone.

For six days there will be vigorous, Olympic-style sporting competitions for the athletes. In addition, there will be a number of non-sporting events, including a leadership program and free health screenings and services.

The estimated budget for these games is $9 million dollars with the expected revenue coming from several designated areas including Federal and State appropriations, as well as local community support.  From the time the athletes arrive in Nebraska, the Games Organizing Committee is responsible for all costs including the athletes and coaches’ accommodations, meals, transportation, and security.  In addition, funds will go to promoting the games, building out venues for competitions, renting venues, and for communication needs.

College Center at South Sioux City:  $100,000

To adequately address the higher education and workforce development needs of Dakota and Thurston Counties, Nebraska higher education institutions Wayne State College and Northeast Community College are collaborating with the city of South Sioux City to build and equip the South Sioux City College Center to offer academic programs specifically designed to meet the needs of Nebraska and the tri-state region.  The new College Center will serve the area by creating a “one-stop” consolidated service center offering community and economic development resources in addition to providing educational opportunity for area residents at an affordable price.  This funding would assist with the purchase of distance learning equipment, nursing/health/science lab technology and equipment; business and industry training technology equipment; and general classroom equipment.

Biomarkers Database of Rural Diseases:  $450,000

The funding would be used by the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) to create a biomarkers database of rural diseases to assess environmental influences on the development of diseases by collecting health information from at least 50,000 Midwesterners.  Currently most information about the relationship between disease and the environment is generated by major databases located in large urban areas on the east and west coasts which tend to be regionally specific and generally not applicable to rural areas.  This database would be the first research cohort in the Midwest to study the relationship between rural populations, the environment, and disease development.  This project could reveal environmental factors responsible for birth defects or lymphoma, a cancer with high incidence in Nebraska.  The data will provide valuable information on the factors influencing development of deadly diseases like cancer and position UNMC Eppley Cancer Institute to be designated a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center. This high distinction will allow for the most advanced patient care and research to be available in Nebraska.  UNMC is the ideal institution to spearhead this database with its numerous resources, well-established statewide hospital network to collect data, a state-of-the art cancer research team and facilities, and comprehensive database capabilities to collect and assess acquired data from this project.

First Hope Initiative – Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital:  $650,000

The First Hope Initiative is a technology and research initiative aimed at increasing the functional independence, quality of life, and outcomes of patients with severe disabilities arising from such conditions as stroke, brain injury and spinal cord injury. The First Hope Initiative creates a model program that can be implemented at other rehabilitation facilities around the country including VA and military hospitals to ensure improved outcomes and independence for individuals recovering from catastrophic medical events.


Transportation-Housing and Urban Development:

Antelope Valley Project Transportation Improvements:  $750,000

The City of Lincoln is committing significant resources for road and pedestrian improvements associated with Antelope Valley.  Some of the important projects that remain in the $125 million transportation component of Antelope Valley Project include: construction of 3.35 miles of roadway (including the  Antelope Valley Parkway from Vine Street to Capitol Parkway) to improve traffic in the City’s central core and Northeast Lincoln; reducing through traffic congestion on the University campus and on downtown streets; eliminating two dangerous mainline at-grade rail crossings, and providing a new overpass (16th Street Overpass) to the State Fair Park, Devaney  Sports Center, state military areas, and surrounding neighborhoods.

Boys Town Expansion: $1.25 million

Boys Town, Nebraska (a non-profit, non-sectarian organization) will use this funding to increase the number of at-risk girls and boys, and their families, served at the Boys Town USA home campus in Omaha, Nebraska. The funding would help fund the construction of a new totally comprehensive child and family services facility with increased capacity to serve more then double the population of children and families currently served of approximately 1,000. Boys Town will be providing at least $7.25 million in matching funds towards the requested federal share of the project. This multi-dimensional service facility will include the broad range of medical and juvenile justice delinquency services so that at-risk girls and boys (and their families) can have all child related disorders and care provided. Some of the services included, but not limited to, in this facility will include juvenile justice evaluations, services to prevent delinquency and school failure,  and parenting skill building services to help parents become more effective at dealing with a variety of child disorders and issues. It is expected that through these services, youth recidivism of criminal behavior will be greatly reduced as will the need for further out-of home-placement, including that of a correctional or prison facility. Youth will be prepared to be productive members of society.  

CEDARS Children’s Crisis Center:  $200,000

The funding will be used for construction of a new Children’s Crisis Center for abused, homeless, and runaway youth in Southeast Nebraska. CEDARS Youth Services plans to build a children’s crisis center to provide short-term emergency shelter, immediate professional assessment of each child's needs, intense family-centered therapeutic services, and an environment that inspires a rapid return to stable and enduring family living. The 18,000 square foot facility will not only provide immediate safety and protection for vulnerable children and youth across the Midwest, but also a comfortable family-friendly setting for them to begin reunification or to meet prospective foster parents in a safe, professional supervised setting. While primarily helping persons from the Midwest area, the Center has recently served youth from the states of Tennessee, Georgia, California, Michigan, Texas and others.  CEDARS is the only emergency shelter provider for children and youth in Southeast Nebraska, and this children’s crisis center will expand the current service capacity by as many as 12 children each day. This is a 50% increase.

Blair Bypass:  $974,000

This funding would be used for the Blair Bypass project.  The bypass will start on the south side of the city at U.S. Highway 30 then run east and north to U.S. Highway 75 on the north side of the city.  The purpose of the Blair Bypass is to serve as a bypass route around the City of Blair, Nebraska, to reduce through traffic, especially truck traffic, in the downtown urban area of the city and to alleviate significant traffic congestion and safety problems.