Nethercutt Says Local Projects Aren’t Pork Takes Some Chaff For Trying To Save Wheat And Mines Spending

Rep. George Nethercutt tried to defend projects in Eastern Washington from two attackers Wednesday: the Clinton administration and his own House GOP caucus.

House Republicans suggested cutting federal funds for an $8 million wheat research facility at Washington State University. Clinton’s mining chief, Rhea Graham, continued to press for the closure of Spokane’s Bureau of Mines offices.

Nethercutt, who campaigned on cutting government spending and reducing the deficit, found himself arguing for more spending at two meetings of the House Appropriations Committee.

First came the suggestion of House Republicans, who are balking at Clinton’s plan to increase the deficit by $7 billion to pay for disaster relief in California and other states. They want to offset the disaster relief with budget cuts.

When Clinton refused, challenging Congress to come up with the money, House Agriculture Appropriations Chairman Joe Skein produced a list of projects the GOP wanted to cut.

One of those is the Wheat Research Facility, designed to grow new varieties of genetically engineered wheat at three times the normal rate.

Nethercutt suggested the committee make cuts elsewhere.

“Just because it’s a research facility doesn’t mean it’s like all the others on the table,” he said. “This project is important to the entire agriculture industry and is going to open up international export markets.”

Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., chided the Spokane Republican, saying all House members could find reasons to preserve projects in their districts.

“As someone who during the election identified pork and who continues to speak out against pork, you should understand we need to stick to this activity,” Lowey said.

The facility has strong support in Washington state.

The Washington Wheat Commission has already pledged $1 million to the project, the state is expected to appropriate $4 million, and the researchers are asking the federal government for $3 million.

“This is agriculture research that assures the food supply and guarantees food safety in a federal and state partnership,” said Beverly Lingle, a university spokeswoman.

According to Tom Mick of the Washington Wheat Commission, the new technology also is vital to the agriculture industry in the Northwest, which exports 85 percent of its wheat to the Pacific Rim.

He tried to dispel the notion that the facility is a pork barrel project.

“We are faced with major producers in the international market who are becoming more sophisticated and demanding a unique quality of wheat,” Mick said.

“We have to develop new variations to meet these demands and to stay competitive.”

Later in the day, during an Appropriations Interior Subcommittee hearing, Nethercutt again pressed the Clinton administration not to close Spokane’s two Bureau of Mines offices.

For the second time in a week, he accused the administration of closing the branches in retaliation for House Speaker Tom Foley’s defeat in November.

He also said he was disappointed Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt had not delivered the proof, as promised last week, that the department decided to close the bureau offices before the election.