Report: Pelosi-backed spending bill would allocate $200M to San Francisco national park

It sure does pay to be a congressional Democrat — or even just to know one.

Fox News reported Friday that the massive $3.5 trillion spending bill that the Democrats are currently looking to push through Congress would allocate hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to a national park in San Francisco, California — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) neck of the woods. 

Can you say corrupt?

Should the $3.5 trillion bill make it through Congress, the Presidio of San Francisco would reportedly receive some $200 million in taxpayer money.

It should come as no surprise that the Presidio Trust features several members who are big-time donors for Pelosi. According to Fox, Lynne Benioff, the chair of the trust, has given the House speaker nearly $80,000 in campaign and PAC donations over the years.

About $70,000 has gone to the Nancy Pelosi Victory Fund, and the rest went to the congresswoman’s campaign, Fox said.

George Marcus, another member of the trust’s board, has given Pelosi some $720,000 over the years, again splitting it between and the Pelosi Victory Fund and Pelosi’s campaign.

In the wake of the development, Republicans have argued that Pelosi’s push for the multitrillion-dollar spending deal reeks of corruption. According to Fox, GOP Sen. John Barrasso (WY) accused the speaker of “taking money from taxpayers to reward her rich friends in San Francisco.” He also pointed out that the park is supposed to be financially self-sufficient.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) told Fox News that the arrangement “certainly raises concerns.”

A “made-up silly thing”

Pelosi and her people, meanwhile, have insisted that there is nothing unethical going on here.

According to a spokesperson for the California Democrat, Presidio national park is currently facing $400 million in “deferred maintenance needs,” a situation they blamed on Republicans for refusing to provide sufficient funding.

Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s top spokesperson, has further claimed that the Presidio has been a hallmark of Pelosi’s congressional career, and that the current board members are not relevant, as the park predates them.

According to Fox, he said the criticism being raised by Republicans is a “made-up silly thing out of disinformation.”

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