All universities send emails and letters to their alumni in the hopes of securing donations for future students. Members of the House of Representatives are more than willing to oblige, using money taken right out of taxpayers’ wallets.
Last year, 31 House members earmarked money for the universities they attended as students, including five who did it twice, according to OpenTheBooks’ review of the House Community Project Funding from fiscal year 2024. The dollar total was $121 million — a rather generous alumni gift.
The largest of the 36 earmarks came from Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), who brought home $36.5 million for airport improvements at the University of Oklahoma, where he received his Ph.D. It was the 32nd-largest earmark out of all 8,052 passed by Congress in 2024.
There were two other alma mater earmarks worth more than $10 million. Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) secured $25 million for agricultural research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he attended graduate school. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) got $13 million for a “community STEM facility” at the University of North Alabama, where he was once an undergraduate.
