Letter: Legislative grants help incumbents get re-elected

Posted 2/26/19

To the editor:

I attended a luncheon at an area senior center billed by its legislative sponsors as their “Annual Luncheon.” One state representative and one state senator paid for the …

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Letter: Legislative grants help incumbents get re-elected

Posted

To the editor:

I attended a luncheon at an area senior center billed by its legislative sponsors as their “Annual Luncheon.” One state representative and one state senator paid for the lunch attended by perhaps 40 seniors. 

The legislators spoke for a few minutes about two legislative efforts that the attending seniors would find useful if they needed home improvement grants or septic system assistance. They both assured the audience that they were always available to hear from their constituents. No questions were solicited from the attendees. 

The highlight of the event was the passing of a $2,000 check to the center’s director, to be used at the discretion of the senior center which is owned and managed by the Town Council. Did this check come out of the pocket of the senator? No, it came out of the state taxpayer’s pocket. It was a legislative grant. 

If you are not aware of these grants, simply go to the internet and type in “Rhode Island legislative grants.” I did and looked over what the House and Senate were giving away. The grants through Oct. 1, 2018 for the fiscal year 2018-2019 season are listed. 

Here’s how it works. Each legislator can nominate any organization for a grant. The speaker of the House and the Senate president have to agree with the choice, then the funds are dispersed. I will let you see for yourself who is getting grants in Rhode Island. 

The Senate awarded 494 grants. I chose one senator to see what was important to that person. He awarded 21 grants. Ten went to organizations in one of the towns in his district; four went to another and five to a third town; two went out of his district. The senator thoughtfully spread this money to town fire departments, libraries, Little Leagues, police departments, senior centers, tenant associations, substance abuse task forces, veterans honor rolls and preservation societies. 

Other senators choose similar organizations from their districts but as you will see from reading down the list, there are many other choices that were made. This goes a long way in explaining the power of incumbency. How many votes do you get for every grant? The applause from the seniors at the center I was at suggested to me that they were very happy with the work their senator was doing. 

The Rhode Island legislative grant process is a very effective way of ensuring that politicians get re-elected, having spent only the time it took to get a grant request written and approved. What a way to run a state!

Jeffrey L. Richard

55 Wamsutta Lane

Portsmouth

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