Walz brings DOJ grant process to Waxman's attention

Government Executive staff writer Peter Cohn reports on an investigation into the way the Department of  Justice picked winner and losers in  Justice Department grant process gets Waxman's attention. It's an interesting look at the question of earmarks. Would government agencies make better choices about spending than representatives and senators?

Here are the details:

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is investigating how a Justice Department agency awarded grants in fiscal 2007, when most federal agencies operated with a freer hand under the yearlong earmark moratorium Democrats imposed.

Waxman wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey March 13 requesting a briefing no later than Friday -- and related documents by April 4 -- in response to reports that the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded noncompetitive grants in fiscal 2007 to less-qualified applicants.

Citing a recent investigation by the trade publication Youth Today, Waxman noted that in fiscal 2007 the the office awarded a $500,000 grant to the World Golf Foundation, even though its application was ranked lower than 38 other bids in a review done by career Justice Department officials. . . .

. . .Waxman said the situation was brought to light by Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., a freshman who complained that a worthy applicant in his district was unfairly shut out of the grant-making process in fiscal 2007. An aide to Walz said his interest was piqued when OJJDP ignored a request to direct money to the National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University, even though it ranked fourth out of more than 100 applicants in the agency's review.

The center trains social workers, teachers, nurses, police officers and others to detect and respond to signs of child abuse. The funding was dropped when the OJJDP administrator made the final decisions. Walz and other Minnesota lawmakers successfully restored about $1.2 million for the center in the fiscal 2008 omnibus appropriations bill, including $446,000 funded through OJJDP. . . .

We make no secret of the fact that we're a big fan of the WSU-based National Child Protection Training Center. Congressman Walz worked with Senators Coleman and Klobuchar to get their earmarks funded for this highly respected program. It's incredible that a bureaucrat would pick a lower-rated program over the NCPTC's work to protect kids.

Waxman has requested documents related to the grant-making process as his committee moves to investigate the situation.

At News Cut, we find Higher ed earmarks explored by blogger Bob Collins. Collins points out that the negative tone of the report he's reviewing; however, he recommends lassessing the actual grants themselves.

The National Child Protection Training Center's earmarks are among the seven requested by Walz. Here's the list of Walz's higher ed earmarks.  We're struck by the fact that all but one (for the Hormel Institute, a cancer research center) enjoy bipartisan support. When the GOP contenders for endorsement in the First decry earmarks, do they include Senator Coleman in their scolding of Congressman Walz?

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System Office		Education	$1,099,451	for a program for rapid employment services for veterans	Rep. Walz (D.) Rep. Peterson (D) Sen. Klobuchar (D) Sen. Coleman (R)
Minnesota State University at Mankato		Energy	$492,000 shared	to be shared with Minnesota West Community and Technical College, for cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel research at the Minnesota Center for Renewable Energy	Rep. Walz (D) Sen. Coleman (R.) Sen. Klobuchar (D)
Minnesota West Community and Technical College		Energy	$492,000 shared	to be shared with Minnesota State University at Mankato, for cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel research at  the Minnesota Center for Renewable Energy	Rep. Walz (D) Sen. Coleman (R.) Sen. Klobuchar (D)
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities		Agriculture	$219,453	for the Uniform Farm Management Program at the Center for Farm Financial Management	Rep. Emerson (R, Mo.) Rep. Walz (D) Sen. Coleman (R) Sen. Klobuchar (D)
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities		Health and Human Services	$406,767	for facilities and equipment for the Hormel Institute's cancer research	Rep. Walz (D.)
Winona State University		Justice	$775,500	for training, technical assistance, and publications at the National Child Protection Training Center	Rep. Walz (D) Rep. Oberstar (D) Sen. Coleman (R) Sen. Klobuchar (D)
Winona State University		Justice	$446,500	to teach investigators and prosecutors the science of interviewing children victimized by abuse	Sen. Coleman (R) Sen. Klobuchar (D) Rep. Walz (D) Rep. Oberstar (D)

Update: As if on cue, Rochester Post Bulletin columnist (and Randy Demmer contributor) Philip Araoz goes after Walz on pork.  See if you can figure out why the conservative physician mentions all those state projects in order to trash the Congressman, rather than bringing up any earmarks Walz sponsored.

Comments

[Geoff Brown]

There's no question that the National Child Protection Training Center at WSU deserves more support. One way to make the scarce dollars go farther is to use online training. We offer an online role-playing course that lets teachers practice a difficult conversation with a possible child abuse victim, giving expert feedback after every choice. It's co-written by a former Minnesota police detective. Still, there's no substitute for face-to-face learning like WSU offers. It's a shame they got shut out. Good for Tim for standing up for them.