When it came to directing federal funds for projects and causes back home, the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California was among the chamber’s most committed members.
Feinstein, who died in September, obtained $145 million in earmarks individually or in combination with fellow California Sen. Alex Padilla in that chamber’s spending bills for the current fiscal year, which put her in the top 20 among senators.
Now Rep. Katie Porter, one of three House Democrats seeking to replace Feinstein, is calling for an end to earmarks, which Senate appropriators who manage them call “congressionally directed spending.” She says such special projects reinforce inequities and drain resources from underserved communities.
