Porkers: Appropriations Says It's Feeding Time!
February 7, 2006 04:49 PM
From a reliable source comes the following letter, distributed by Appropriations committee staff to Republican Senate staffers. It's feeding time, so line up at the trough!
Emphasis added on the best part; see also RedState for more...
- The due date for member requests is April 5, 2005.
- Please submit both your Senator's state specific projects ($1 million for Smith Hospital, etc.) and line item programs contained in the budget ($5 billion for LIHEAP, etc.).
- Submit all requests in letter form. In addition submit the Senator's state specific project priority list, as well as line item program priorities, electronically. (Note the distinction between projects and programs.) If it is a programmatic request please insert PROGRAM-- (in all caps with the dashes) before the name of the grantee or program. Guidelines for the letter and electronic formats are below.
- Please be realistic regarding your project priority list. You should not have 50 project priorities. Remember, these lists will be held confidential by the committee.
- If your Senator is requesting language, please include the language in a separate word file or e-mail.
- Disks with a copy of the electronic database will be made available in SD-184. With the disk will be a packet of project guidelines on what can and cannot be funded.
- If you have any questions regarding member requests, please feel free to contact [deleted]. This form is for Majority members only, if you have any further questions about the Minority requirements please contact [deleted].
Electronic Database:
- Save the access file onto your computer, do not launch it from a disk or e-mail.
- Open the file and fill out a form for each request.
- You MUST fill in all blank spaces! All incomplete forms will be returned to your office.
- After you have filled in all the spaces you click on the "Next" button and proceed to the next form.
- These can be edited and updated.
- If you would like to delete an entire record, click on the "View Table" button and select the row it’s in by clicking on the gray button on the very left hand side of the screen, then hit "Delete." There is no retrieving this data once it is gone. Be careful!
- When you close the database it will automatically save all of the records you have inputted.
- Then save it back onto the disk or burn it onto a CD and return it to [deleted].
Letter:
- Include all of the information in the letter that you would on the electronic form.
- Specifically you should include in a block at the top of the letter:
*Member
- Note: If this is a joint request please enter one member, a slash, then the second member. (ie. Specter / Harkin)
*Staff Contact
- Include your DIRECT number, not your main office number.
*Agency
*Account
*Request Amount
*Legal Grantee Name and Statement of Purpose
- (ie. Temple University, Philadelphia, PA to expand academic support services for undergraduate students)
- Note: You MUST put the legal name of the grantee organization (whoever gets the money) first on the letter!
- After the header include:
* A one to two paragraph description of the project.
* A detailed statement of purpose.
- Include exactly what the money will be used for, such as curriculum, renovation, construction, etc. Please review acceptable uses of federal dollars for each account.