Between the eight Congressmen and two Senators, the state of Maryland put forward 936 projects for FY24 Congressionally Directed Spending, reaching over $1.6B in funding requests. Of those requests, 335 were advanced through their respective bills for over $377 million in earmark awards.

The Majority of requests were submitted jointly by Senators Cardin and Van Hollen, with a select number submitted absent the other.

Senator Cardin

Total Requested: 406 projects – $660,680,000

A&RD – 21 projects – $22,395,000

CSJ – 33 projects – $36,394,000

E&W – 27 projects – $50,476,000

FS&GG – 18 projects – $15,121,000

HS – 9 projects – $23,960,000

I&E – 44 projects – $116,993,000

LHHS&E – 145 projects – $140,579,000

MilCon&VA – 1 project – $3,000,000

THUD – 108 projects – $251,762,000

Total Funded: 109 – $116,614,000

A&RD – 7 projects – $4,265,000

CSJ – 14 projects – $9,969,000

E&W – 8 projects – $12,804,000

FS&GG – 15 projects – $11,897,000

HS – 2 projects – $2,963,000

I&E – 16 projects – $13,863,000

LHHS&E – 31 projects – $25,766,000

MilCon&VA – 1 project – $3,000,000

THUD – 15 projects – $32,087,000

If we can take anything from Senator Cardin’s approach to FY24 appropriations, it’s try, try, and try again.  After submitting over 400 requests for Congressionally Directed Spending this season, Senator Cardin walked away with a roughly 25% success rate. In a smart play by Cardin a majority of requests were submitted in tandem with fellow Maryland Senator Van Hollen, a Chair on Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee. This could explain the high success rate the two held in those accounts, with 15 of their 19 requests earning earmarks.

To say Senator Cardin is a history buff would be an understatement, as over two million dollars was committed to the Historic Preservation account within Interior and Environment. From President Lincoln’s Cottage to World War II era naval ship, the S.S. John W. Brown, the people of Maryland will have no shortage of living history next year to explore. This is assuming they can get to them, as transportation and infrastructure related projects saw minimal success.

Senator Van Hollen

Total Requested: 411 Projects – $663,436,000

A&RD – 21 projects – $22,395,000

CSJ – 33 projects – $36,394,000

E&W – 27 projects – $50,476,000

FS&GG – 19 projects – $15,283,000

HS – 9 projects – $23,960,000

I&E – 44 projects – $116,993,000

LHHS&E – 145 projects – $140,579,000

MilCon&VA – 1 project – $3,000,000

THUD – 112 projects – $254,356,000

Total Funded: 112 Projects – $119,370,000

A&RD – 7 projects – $4,625,000

CSJ – 13 projects – $9,969,000

E&W – 8 projects – $4,725,000

FS&GG – 15 projects – $12,059,000

HS – 2 projects – $2,963,000

I&E – 16 projects – $13,863,000

LHHS&E – 31 projects – $25,766,000

MilCon&VA – 1 project – $3,000,000

THUD – 19 projects – $34,681,000

Senator Van Hollen once again proves that committee membership is king in the world of Congressionally Directed Spending. As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, Senator Van Hollen saw success for 15 of his 19 requests for those subsequent accounts, garnering more than $12 million in awards. However, despite being a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, one cannot ignore the 25% success rate of his submittals overall. Senator Van Hollen fell dramatically short of what was asked of Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development related projects, earning a little more than $34 million than the initial ask for over $250 million.

It’s no surprise that he, like the rest of the Senate, felt the need to overload Labor, Health, Human Services and Education accounts with 145 submittals due to its absence in the House of Representatives. Capturing 31 of those 145 earmark requests, the average size of the price tag came to $800,000, which is perhaps a nod to the committee’s effort to spread out more awards to inexpensive projects rather than commit to fewer but more expensive.

Congressman Harris

Requests: 15 projects, $71.39M

Awarded: 14 projects, $38.15M

The lion share of Rep. Harris’ requests were either funded through EPA-STAG or Rural Water and Waste Disposal accounts, leveraged to improve several water and waste system improvement projects-like $5M for the Greensboro Regional Wastewater System Expansion project and $2.5M for a Worcester County Mystic Harbor Water Wastewater Upgrade and Rehabilitation project. These were just two of the seven total projects geared towards water and waste system improvements.

Congressman Hoyer

Requests: 15 projects, $29.95M

Awarded: 13 projects, $8.76M

His return as the seniormost Member of the Appropriations Committee after a two-decade stint in leadership proved fruitful in securing all but two of his requests. The majority of his projects were funded in the Transportation-Housing & Urban Development bill including funding for several community nonprofits and some needed road improvement projects. His projects, however, mostly were awarded at a lower price tag than he’d prefer, something that is sure to change if Democrats reenter the majority. After leading the charge while Majority Leader to return earmarks to Congress after a decade without them, Hoyer is always looking for ways to fund important projects.

Congressman Ivey

Requests: 15 projects, $45.23M

Awarded: 15 projects, $17.96M

 15 for 15 is also not a bad record to report home to the voters, that is if you ignore the more than $27 million dollar gap. This can be explained by the average project cost for the 15 submittals being over three million dollars, against the average actual award size of one million. The freshman congressman played true to his House Homeland Security and Judiciary Committee memberships with over half of project requests relating to violence reduction and cyber security improvement.

Congressman Mfume

Requested: 15 projects, $24.50M

Awarded: 15 projects, $13.30M

Although Rep. Mfume saw funding for all of the projects he submitted earmarks for in FY24, only 5 of them were fully funded, the other 10 saw significant deviations from their original price tag. For example, Congressman Mfume put forward a $4M request to rehabilitate and transform a blighted factory into a small business incubator that will house new office space, as well as street level storefronts. The project was allocated $850,000, a more than $3M price reduction. The average request across the 15 projects reached $1.63M, with the final award amount averaging just over $800,000.

All the Congressman’s earmark requests were made through the THUD, Economic Development Initiatives account. As this was the only account allowing for construction related projects, it makes sense that each request had a rehabilitation, renovation, construction, and other capital improvement component.

Congressman Ruppersberger

Requested: 14 projects, $33.99M

Awarded: 13 Projects, $17.87M

Congressman Ruppersberger went for gold on a few projects, but of note was the ten-million-dollar request for the Pikesville Armory Redevelopment project, which was only awarded 10% of the original price tag. The Congressman’s requests were split between Commerce, Justice, and Science projects and Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development. A large majority of requests went towards the Baltimore area, with the remainder spread throughout the district between Towson, Westminster, and Stevenson.

Congressman Raskin

Requested: 15 projects, $26.08M

Awarded: 15 projects, $12.13M

Congressman Raskin also saw each project receive a portion of their award, though facing an average $900,000 project price difference from funds requested versus funds received. Congressman Raskin’s project requests ran the gamut, ranging from Transportation, Housing and Urban Development related projects, Commerce, Justice and Science projects to Interior and Environment projects. His largest victory was in the THUD, Economic Development account with over three million dollars in earmarks.

Congressman Sarbanes

Requested: 15 Projects, $37.56M

Awarded: 15 Projects, $15.61M

Congressman Sarbanes leaned heavily on Transportation and Infrastructure related projects in his requests for Congressional Directed Spending. Over $10 million was awarded for Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development related projects out of the total $15 million. Public transit seemed to be top of mind for the Congressman, as projects focused on expanding bus station accessibility, construction of a new transit operation facility, and improving the Ellicott City North Tunnel to increase commercial activity were included.

Congressman Trone

Requested: 15 Projects, $44.77M

Awarded: 14 Projects, $17.75M

Congressman Trone split his requests between Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development and Agriculture and Rural Development for FY24. There was a heavy emphasis on community centers in the Congressman’s district, as more than $7 million was awarded for the renovation and/or creation of youth, entrepreneur, and city hubs, each with the aim of bringing specific groups together.

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

New Hampshire

Vermont

For inquiries about eligible projects and more information about how O’Neill and Associates can assist your organization in preparing an impactful request for federal funding in the FY2025, please reach out to approps@oneillandassoc.com.