Marin loses more than $2M in federal earmarks

Action by Congress last week averted a partial government shutdown, but it also dashed hopes for more than $2 million in federal earmarks for Marin County projects.

Earmarks allow members of Congress to direct federal funds for specific projects to their states and districts. Their use was banned in 2011 after some high-profile scandals in the early part of the 2000s, but Congress brought them back in 2022 when Democrats had the majority.

For earmarks to be allocated, Congress must first approve a final appropriations bill, but that didn’t happen this year. Instead, Congress adopted continuing resolutions, temporary spending bills that allow federal government operations to continue.

Eight Democratic votes in the Senate were required recently to move the continuing resolution over a procedural hurdle. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer decided not to risk a shutdown by opposing its adoption.

“It was a terrible decision for some of them to support the GOP spending bill,” Rep. Jared Huffman, who represents Marin, wrote in an email. “It surrendered Congress’ Article I authority, which is a critical check on the President’s abuse of power, by allocating spending in lump sums with no direction – which is a blank check for Trump and DOGE to do whatever they want.”

DOGE is the so-called Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk.

“And,” Huffman said, “we guaranteed that Democrats will be fighting with Democrats instead of Trump for several weeks because so many of us are angry at Schumer.”

The loss of the Marin earmarks was a bitter pill for the Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center, which likely would have received $1.5 million if an appropriations bill had been signed and the earmarks approved.

California’s senators requested $2.5 million for the center, and Huffman asked for $2 million. Those requests were whittled down by the appropriations committees in both the House and Senate, as often happens. The senators’ requests were reduced to $1.5 million and Huffman’s to $850,000.

Talia Smith, the county’s legislative director, said typically when there are dual requests, the larger request is granted, so the children’s center would have received $1.5 million.

The center needs a major rehabilitation, including ramps for disabled users, retaining walls, a fire alarm system, roofing, bathroom updates, electrical work, lighting and parking lot upgrades.

The Ross Valley School District, which owns the building, threatened to evict the center last year. But it sold the building to the Seiderman Legacy Children’s Fund, which offered the center a long-term lease.

“It just means that we’ll have to work harder on raising the money on our own and looking for other sources of revenue to do the renovations,” said Heidi Tomsky, executive director of the center. “We were hopeful for the money, but we’re not going to let it stop us from continuing forward.”

Tomsky said a feasibility study is underway as a prelude to a fundraising campaign. She estimates it will cost between $8.1 million and $8.8 million to complete the rehabilitation.

The federal earmarks also were likely to provide the Petaluma Health Center with $434,000 to help it purchase, renovate and outfit the West Marin Pharmacy in Point Reyes Station.

The California State Board of Pharmacy has leveled a number of accusations of procedural and clerical violations against the pharmacy and at one point recommended suspending or revoking the license of Zsuzsanna Biran, its owner. Biran has agreed to sell the business this year as part of a settlement with the state board.

The Petaluma Health Center has developed a business plan to operate the pharmacy at cost once it is renovated. Currently, low-income patients in West Marin must travel to Petaluma to access free or low-cost medications available through the federal government’s “340B drug pricing program.”

The earmarks also would have secured $250,000 for a project to build 135 affordable apartments in eastern Larkspur for educators and Marin County employees.

The county and the Marin County Office of Education, which formed the Marin County Public Financing Authority to oversee the project, revealed earlier this month that the project has a budget shortfall of more than $17 million.

“We have not counted on the $250,000 federal earmark in our budget,” said Matthew Hymel, the authority’s director and a former county executive. “However, the funds could have been part of our effort to close our remaining budget gap.”

Smith said that Sen. Alex Padilla and Sen. Adam Schiff, both Democrats, recently began accepting applications for earmarks in the next fiscal year. She said the county will submit the Fairfax-San Anselmo Children’s Center funding request.

Smith expressed confidence that Republicans, who hold majorities in both houses of Congress, will continue to allow earmarks.

“There are a lot of projects in Republican members’ districts that were funded this way,” Smith said.

She said Republicans have a special incentive to retain earmarks when they are in control because they can direct money towards districts represented by the party.

However, she said, Republicans might enact changes in the rules governing how the earmarks are applied for and awarded. For example, Republicans stopped allowing nonprofit organizations to submit applications last year.

Smith said the Trump administration’s move to shrink the federal government by summarily laying off thousands of employees raises the question of whether future earmarks will be followed through on even if they are approved.

“That is not a question that would have been asked before the last two months,” she said. “This is a new world in which we are living.”