Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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A $950,000 earmark for a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the omnibus spending bill that passed the U.S. House Wednesday has drawn the ire of U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron.
The Iowa Republican called the National Council of La Raza a “pro-amnesty organization” and said “the last thing Congress should be doing is handing out cash to apologists for immigration law breakers.”
“American taxpayers do not support La Raza’s agenda or its position in support of amnesty for illegal aliens,” King said in a statement.
La Raza has been a focal point of conservative criticism over the years, ranging from claims that it encourages illegal immigration to the United States to accusations that it is exclusionary in its approach to civil rights.
In an open letter to the public entitled “The Truth about NCLR,” the group’s president tried to put those rumors to rest, pointing out that immigration legislation La Raza has supported in the past, the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Bill, called for comprehensive reform, including improved border security.
The money in the omnibus bill is for “nationwide community development activities,” according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group that has combed through the bill and listed all the earmarks it contains.
La Raza points out that any federal money it receives for housing and community development projects is directed to its subsidiary, the Raza Development Fund. That organization’s job is to bring private capital and development assistance to local organizations serving Latino families in areas such as affordable housing, primary health care and educational facilities. No money from earmarks goes to advance La Raza’s public policy efforts on immigration.
King is not alone in his criticism of certain earmarks in the omnibus bill. Many conservative lawmakers are calling on President Barack Obama to demand the extra spending be eliminated from the bill now before the U.S. Senate, but Democrats are quick to point out Republicans have requested their fair share of earmarks, too.
Taxpayers for Common Sense counted more than 8,500 earmarks in the bill with a cost of $7.7 billion, up 3.4 percent from last year. Democratic leadership estimates that the total earmark value is about $3.8 billion. In the Transportation/Housing & Urban Development portion of the omnibus bill, which is where the La Raza earmark is included, King has requested nearly $2.3 million worth of earmarks, mostly for road and bridge projects in his western Iowa district.
While King’s only public statement on the omnibus bill has been critical, his House Republican counterpart, Rep. Tom Latham of Ames, released a statement Thursday praising the bill for including millions of dollars for a “wide range of projects at Iowa State University,” which is located in his hometown.
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