How To Submit a Congressionally Directed Spending Request
Have you ever heard of Congressionally Directed Spending and wondered to yourself, "what is that and how can I ask for some for my town?" We sure have! Thanks to a February 2025 webinar through Senator Shaheen's office, however, we now have answers and are ready to share!
What is Congressionally Directed Spending?
Let's start with the basics. Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) are essentially short-term grants for community development projects. They are also sometimes referred to as "earmarks" or "community project funding." Only certain federal accounts are open for congressional directed spending requests, and only nonprofits, local, state, and tribal governments can make the requests. CDS grants are not meant to be applied for repeatedly year-over-year, but rather as a one-time supplemental funding for a project or initiative.
Congressional directed spending makes up a tiny portion of federal spending, making up only 1% of Federal discretionary spending. (Federal discretionary spending makes up a little over a quarter of the total Federal spending and includes funding for defense, education, transportation, and scientific research.)
What account can I submit a request under that's related to recycling or solid waste?
Good news - CDS grant requests dealing with recycling and solid waste are eligible under the Agriculture account. In even better news, this is not one of the highly competitive grant accounts, which means your project stands a better chance of being chosen! Recycling and solid waste CDS grant requests are usually going to fall under Rural Development, Community Facilities Grants.
Who submits community development project requests?
Organizations and local tribes and governments submit their project requests to their Representative or Senator who review the projects. House members (Representatives) may only submit 15 community development project requests, while Senators have no limit, but they all must be mindful of the small percentage of discretionary funding they are working with!
When are CDS requests due?
These requests are usually due in the early spring. This year, the deadline for all NH Representatives and Senators is March 7, 2025.
Who can I submit a CDS request to?
As long as your project qualifies for the criteria stated on the application form, you can submit the same application to Senator Shaheen, Representative Goodlander, and Representative Pappas (links to their individual request pages below).