South Carolina will soon get $75 million in extra money from earmarks

What is an earmark?
Earmark is a politicized term that denotes money designated within legislation for the funding of a specific project. Opponents characterize it as a back-door approach to grant political favors and fund pet projects. Supporters view it as a way to channel tax dollars back home for valuable purposes.

South Carolina will soon get $75 million in extra money from earmarks in the $410 billion spending bill that President Barack Obama signed this week. Among the extra federal spending for the state is money for educating seafood lovers about the dangers of eating raw oysters, an oaktree-planting bonanza and a robotics training center in Union.

U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn boasts of his role in bringing nearly half of that money home to the state to provide for improvements and economic development. He's responsible for $35 million of the total.

Meanwhile, another member of the state's congressional delegation, Sen. Jim DeMint, is on a crusade against the deficit spending and corruption that he argues is caused by earmarks, including ones going to other states for tattoo removal, pig stench and midnight basketball.

"Americans are suffering in this economy, but Washington appears to be recession-proof, with billions wasted on politicians' pet projects," DeMint, a Republican, said after the Senate passed the bill Tuesday. DeMint, who sponsored no earmarks, blasted Obama for signing the bill.

Fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham agrees that earmarks can be abused but said they also can be for worthwhile endeavors. He sponsored seven earmarks, including several with Rep. Henry Brown, a Republican from Hanahan whose 1st District includes much of the Charleston area.

Clyburn, a Democrat who represents South Carolina's 6th District, said the earmarks are federal investments that produce real results.