One of the benefits of incumbency is the ability to announce the distribution of dollars. Members of Congress, for instance, typically are given a heads-up by federal agencies several days before a grant is formally announced. This gives the lawmaker a chance to issue a press release and secure some credit-by-association.
But Spencer Pedersen, press secretary for Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, noted Monday that notification can pose its own problems. Some agencies, he said, "still haven't graduated to e-mail yet" and so still rely on faxes. That can make its own kind of sense, though, because Capitol Hill staff moves around so much e-mail addresses can quickly become archaic.
On Aug. 20, for instance, the Education Department faxed to Radanovich's office notice that California State University, Fresno was about to receive a $199,000 grant. The faxed letter advised Radanovich's office that Fresno State would itself be formally notified "in the next few days." The grant will help the school's Deaf Education Personnel Preparation Project, which is training 20 teachers for the deaf and hard of hearing.