Why are we hearing about the "First Tee" program only now?

In an earlier post today, I was reminiscing about my experience with the disastrous crime bill of 1994, which the Republicans savaged on the grounds that it contained a million dollars for "Midnight Basketball" and other crime prevention programs. I was thinking about that while I happened to be reading a report put out last week by the Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee demonstrating the astonishing increase in the number and cost of earmarked projects in congressional appropriations bills.

According to this very well-done report, in the Fiscal Year 2003 bill funding the Departments of Labor, HHS and Education (which in congressional parlance is called the "Labor-H bill," and by tradition, never included earmarks), House Majority Leader Tom DeLay inserted a requirement that the Department of Education spend $1 million of funds intended for education improvement to support a program of the World Golf Foundation called "First Tee."

The mission of First Tee, according to its homepage, is "to impact the lives of young people around the world by creating affordable and accessible golf facilities primarily to serve those who have not previously had exposure to the game and its positive values." A little more research at the web site of the World Golf Foundation finds that the program basically funds the building of golf courses: "The First Tee golf facilities will depend on the needs of a given community. The fundamental concept is to use the available space to create a quality playing area and a true golf experience through a variety of hole lengths, shapes, and strategies." A little more research reveals that the program has also received $5 million from the no-women-allowed Augusta National Golf Club.

And, as the report notes, this money is coming out of the very federal education programs, such as No Child Left Behind, that are so grossly underfunded. The report points out that there are 31 schools in DeLay's own district designated as failing.

Given all this, why are we only hearing about this now?? This bill passed a year ago -- in fact, right before the election! In a single million-dollar ripoff, it says everything that needs to be said about the current majority. (Oh, did I forget to mention that the organization also hands out the "Shell Oil/George Bush Volunteer Award"?) It's got government waste, insider dealing, discriminatory clubs, giveaways to people who don't need it, the fraud that is No Child Left Behind. And it's not hard to understand.

For anyone who lived through the savaging of Midnight Basketball and other crime-prevention programs, it's very frustrating that something like this could go unmentioned for a year. But it's never too late.