Show us the money!

Read about the Trinity River Vision and their shortfall of earmark funds (again), in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Tell us again, WHO pays?  Be sure and read the comments from THE PEOPLE.  The ones the politicians and developers want to foot the bill.

With the current congressional moratorium on earmarks, Trinity River Vision Authority officials have been told not to expect any federal funding in the current fiscal year for the flood control and economic development project.

"Do I hope we can get some money this year? Yes," said J.D. Granger, Trinity River Vision's executive director. "Do I know if we can get some money? No. I do know we've been told that earmarks are not being accepted for the Fiscal Year 2011 continuing resolution."

"As a board member, we have always known the only hard stop on this project is if federal funding is not available," Maenius said. "Is it a concern if the federal dollars stop? Obviously it is."

"I'm curious when we reach the tipping point where we don't have to be worried," said Maenius, who added that he has been unable to receive a clear-cut answer. U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, who has secured earmarks for the project since its inception, cannot seek funding for the project since Congress has instituted a moratorium on earmarks. Her son is J.D. Granger.

Since the Senate joined the earmark moratorium, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison also can no longer seek an earmark for Central City, the Army Corps of Engineers portion of the project.

The Fort Worth project is not in President Barack Obama's budget -- nor was it in President George W. Bush's budgets -- but has been funded through earmarks championed by Rep. Granger.

"Obviously, when the question of funding arises, we are dependent on what happens in Washington," Moncrief said. "But I'm confident that Kay Granger, in her leadership role, and her colleagues and both of our senators in their leadership roles will prioritize this project and continue to focus their energies on completing the task."

Although both Granger and Hutchison are on the appropriations committees in their chambers, the earmark moratorium is intended to keep members from using their influence to target funding.