Earmarks could bring $16M for Fort Worth area projects in House infrastructure bill

Nathan Hart
·2 min read

Around $16 million in federal money could go toward Fort Worth area projects because to earmarking, a practice recently revived after years of it being banned.

The U.S. House passed an infrastructure bill Thursday that includes funding for Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey’s earmarked projects in Fort Worth. Veasey’s projects include new lights for Dallas Area Rapid Transit and money for the TRE Trinity Lakes Station and Trinity Metro’s Grove Street building.

The bill passed on a 221-201 party-line vote, with two House Republicans voting yes.

Earmarking is a process where a senator or representative uses legislation to direct federal funds to projects in their home state or district. Under House rules, every representative can request funding for 10 projects, but it is ultimately up to committees to choose which projects get funding.

Republican Beth Van Duyne proposed projects, but none was included in the bill, which she ultimately voted against.

“Yes we would have wanted to have our projects move forward but unfortunately this bill was so fraught with debt and other dangerous issues for years to come there’s no way that I could support it,” Van Duyne told the Star-Telegram.

Asked how she would deal with another bill that pushes Democrat priorities but also includes funding for her projects, Van Duyne said it was important to not let one part of a bill drive her vote.

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure used a bipartisan process to select which projects would be included. Roughly two-thirds of both Democrats’ and Republicans’ requested projects were funded.

Earmarks were banned in 2011, then seen as a vessel for corruption. They returned this year with new requirements for transparency and restrictions on where the earmark money can go.

Here are Veasey’s projects that would receive funding:

  • $2.8 million for Dallas Area Rapid Transit stations.

  • $12 million for the Trinity Railway Express station at the Trinity Lakes Station near Trinity Boulevard and Loop 820.

  • $3.3 for the Trinity Metro Grove Street Intermodal Campus Rehabilitation.