Earmarks for Warren County

The other day I came across a publicized list of the earmarks inserted into the recently approved federal spending bill, aka the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009. The list included projects from mostly northern New Jersey Congressmen and our two senators. Scott Garrett had six projects listed: 1) Law enforcement radio upgrade for Warren County — $1.25M; 2) Land acquisition for the Delaware Water Gap Rec. Area for New Jersey — $1M; 3) Intermodal Transit Improvements for New Jersey — $712K; 4) Investigations of Lower Saddle River for New Jersey — $526K; 5) Facilities and equipment for Hackettstown Community Hospital — $238K; 6) Upgrades to safety and security of Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff — $142.5K. Now, I read all the time how we, here in Sussex County, need a lot of things but neither the county nor the state have the money to address the problems. Examples: road repair/expansion, dam repair, economic development to attract business and jobs, facilities and equipment for our local hospitals, senior housing, commuter transportation (light rail) to reduce traffic and pollution, renewable energy feasibility studies, improved facilities in our public schools for our special needs children, after school programs and Sussex Sewer System repair/upgrade to name but a few. (I am sure the readership can add a lot more to the pot.) When Scott Garrett first ran for Congress, he said that we needed someone in Washington who can bring home our fair share of the tax money we send to Washington. New Jersey continues to get about 61 cents back on our tax dollar. Scott Garrett’s earmarks totalled $3.869M. Monies designated for Sussex County $0. It is apparent that Garrett feels that Sussex County taxpayers are more affluent than Bergen County and we can continue to be taxed to get things done. Oh yes, the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 in which these earmarks were inserted — he voted No. Go figure. Peter Compa Wantage