Democrat Dirty Laundry: Thompson Steers Federal Funds for Non-Existent Program
Thompson Now Listed as “Trustee Emeritus” at College that “Could Not Explain What the Earmarks are For”
SPIN CYCLE:
Democrats Promised They Would Put and End to Business As Usual and Work for the People’s Interests, Not Special Interests
“Democrats declare that it is time to end the culture of corruption prevailing through all levels of government. We are committed to immediate change to lead this country in a new direction, to put an end to business as usual, and to make certain this nation’s leaders serve the people’s interests, not special interests. Our responsibility to our constituents and to our nation is to represent all of the people, not just the powerful.” (Nancy Pelosi’s “A New Direction for America,” pg 21)
RINSE CYCLE:
Thompson Earmarked Money for Alma Mater, Directed Funds to Non-Existent Engineering Program
“House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) is seeking earmarks worth millions of dollars for homeland security projects at the small Mississippi college that he attended, though the school could not explain what the earmarks are for and does not yet appear to have the capacity to provide the services that Thompson wants to fund.
“In an earmark request for 2010 appropriations, Thompson’s Web site indicates that he is seeking $23 million for the ‘National Institute for Education and Training’ at Tougaloo College for ‘an Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (OTEA) in Vicksburg, Mississippi.’
“Tougaloo is a historically black college north of Jackson, Miss., with an enrollment of just less than 1,000 students and an annual budget of around $28 million, according to its most recent available tax records. Thompson was on the board of trustees until 2005 and is now listed as a ‘trustee emeritus.’
“Thompson’s chief of staff, Lanier Avant, said the earmark is actually for a consortium of institutions ‘to develop engineering capacity in the region … for all kinds of engineering,’ including civil and electrical engineering. Avant said the request includes Tougaloo, the Army Corps of Engineers facility at Vicksburg, Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and Jackson State University, Avant’s alma mater. It would be up to the four institutions to divvy up the funding and figure out the roles that each will play in implementing the earmark, he said.
“The money would be ‘an addition to existing programs’ at the institutions, Avant said. Tougaloo ‘has one of the most renowned engineering programs of all the [historically black colleges and universities] in the country. … It’s not like Tougaloo is some kind of new kid on the block,’ he said.
“George Armstrong, a chemistry professor who serves as the interim director of Tougaloo’s National Institute for Education and Training in Transportation Security, said he had heard about the earmark but had no details about it.” (Paul Singer, “Thompson’s College Scores – Chairman Seeks $23M Earmark,” Roll Call, April 21, 2009)
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