By DAVID SKOLNICK

Staff writer

Congress approved all 15 of outgoing U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan’s requested earmarks for projects in his district, including seven in the Mahoning Valley.

The funding for the projects was approved Friday by the U.S. House 225-201, largely along party lines with Democratic support, as part of $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill. The Senate voted 68-29 in support of it Thursday, with 18 Republicans joining 50 Democrats in the majority. The bill heads to President Joe Biden, who supports it, for his signature.

It was the last vote Ryan, D-Howland, took as a member of Congress. He leaves at the end of the month after 20 years in the U.S. House of Represen-tatives. He lost the election last month to Republican J.D. Vance for a Senate seat.

Included in the massive spending bill was about $15 billion in earmarks for projects in lawmakers’ districts.

“This latest government funding package again makes historic investments to rebuild our region through funding for our schools, recreation centers, law enforcement agencies, health care institutions, manufacturers and more,” Ryan said. “I’m proud to have fought to provide another $19 million injection into our economy and for countless other wins that will bolster our region.”

Ryan said during his two decades in Congress, much of it serving on the powerful Appropriations Committee, he’s steered more than $1.5 billion to his district — which includes parts of Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage, Summit and Stark counties.

In addition, Ryan, who is vice chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, secured about $130 million in funding through the omnibus bill for advanced manufacturing, hypersonics, workforce training programs and investments in new technology that could benefit firms and institutions in northeast Ohio.

EARMARKS

Ryan sponsored 15 earmarks totaling $19,034,000, including eight in the Mahoning Valley at a total amount of $13,614,000.

The largest Valley earmark is $5 million for the resurfacing of a runway at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna.

The project is the rehabilitation of a 3,000-foot section of the 9,000-foot main runways and would be used toward milling and paving along with draining upgrades and required pavement markings. The project’s pavement condition is currently rated poor and would aid existing aviation users and help attract new commercial and cargo services to the airport, according to Ryan’s office.

The next largest local project is $2.5 million for improvements to Waddell Park in Niles.

Those include constructing a splash pad water park featuring a gazebo and restrooms, building an Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible playground, making upgrades to address failures of water supply and sanitation systems, improving fields with artificial turf, fencing replacements and asphalt repairs.

Akron Children’s Hospital Beeghly Campus in Boardman is getting $2 million to expand its emergency department.

The expansion will create 20 full-time jobs and increase space from 17 standard rooms to 23 family-centered care patient rooms with space for six more rooms. The emergency department’s square footage will go from 8,300 to 30,800 square feet.

The Community Literacy Workforce and Cultural Center in Campbell is receiving $2 million for an expansion to include the Mahoning Valley Wellness and Rehabilitation Center.

It will provide access to health care services and improve training opportunities in a medically underserved area, according to Ryan’s office.

Funding will be used to secure specialized medical equipment which would allow for vision, dental and other health care services and serve as a space for training programs for current and future health professionals.

Other Valley earmarks sponsored by Ryan in the bill are:

∫ $914,000 for Eastern Gateway Community College in Youngstown to expand its electric vehicle technologies training programs including the repair and maintenance of electric vehicles as well as charging stations.

∫ $650,000 for Trumbull County Educational Service Center’s Voltage Valley Young Dronepreneurs, a STEM drone racing program.

The funding would grow the program from six to 50 teams of middle and high school children in the county’s Youth Drone Racing League and create 20 STEM lessons on drones and entrepreneurship for grades 6 to 12. The center will prepare the future workforce for success and advance the region’s Voltage Valley vision, according to Ryan’s office.

∫ $550,000 for a vision care van through a partnership between Sight for All United, the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley and other organizations. The van, with specialized equipment to take vision care directly to students, will allow the program to expand from three to 18 school districts.

The other funding requests came from communities in Summit, Portage and Stark counties, which Ryan represents in the U.S. House, and two regional projects: $400,000 for a small business energy efficient support program and $300,000 for STEM education for underserved students.

Also, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, sponsored five projects that will impact the Mahoning Valley. They are:

∫ $1.25 million for a public transit call center in northeast Ohio for seven transit authorities, including the Western Reserve Transit Authority and Trumbull County Transit.

∫ $1 million to extend a water main along Turner Road in Canfield Township. The project will install fire hydrants every 1,000 feet along the road.

∫ $750,000 for Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership’s home repair program to provide repair work to the homes of low- to moderate-income people in the county.

∫ $350,000 for the Youngstown Business Incubator to target and assist small- and medium-sized manufacturers who lack the expertise ad capital of larger ones.

∫ $99,000 for a second snowplow for the Milton Township road department.

House Democrats announced in 2021 they would bring back earmarks that were eliminated in 2011 when Republicans took control of the House. Before the ban, opponents said earmarks were abused and had little oversight.

House Democrats changed the rules with the return of earmarks. Members had to make the projects public along with an explanation for each proposal, and the number of earmarks was restricted. The earmarks limit last year was 10 and was increased this year to 15.

With Republicans regaining control of the House, effective Jan. 1, the future of earmarks is uncertain.

dskolnick@vindy.com

dskolnick@tribtoday.com