PLYMOUTH — Congressman Joe Donnelly has only been in office a year, but one group says he's already bringing home the bacon. A recent report found Donnelly is one of the most successful freshman lawmakers in bringing his district special interest spending — known as earmarks.

Donnelly told WSBT News his requests aren't wasteful and provide real benefits to the district. Donnelly says he wants to end the earmark system, but for now, he has to do what's best for the district.

Earlier this week, he announced the city of Plymouth would be receiving a $200,000 flood mitigation grant from FEMA.

The city will likely use the money to buy a handful of homes that saw the most damage from the recent flooding along the Yellow River, but that grant wasn't a part of the normal appropriations process.

It's what's known as an earmark: a funding request from a congressman that's later included in the overall federal budget.

“If you look at what this program is, this is a program that's going to save the city of Plymouth money,” Donnelly said. “That makes the community a better place.”

But the non-partisan group "Taxpayers for Common Sense" says most earmarks are not based on merit, but political power and political need.

"The people who write the spending bills, the people who are in leadership, are getting the lion's share of earmarks,” said Steve Ellis, a spokesperson for the group. “The very next line is going to be the vulnerable lawmakers, the ones who are freshman, or the ones who have knocked off someone from the other party like Mr. Donnelly."

The group estimates Donnelly is bringing home more than $9 million in earmarks to the district, everything from sewer improvements in South Bend to a U.S. 31 construction project.

Donnelly has criticized the system, but makes no apologies for using it to the district's advantage.

“It is very, very clear, that if the city of Plymouth has this opportunity while this system continues, how do I look the city of Plymouth in the eye and say, 'I'm sorry these funds were available, but I refuse to help you,'” Rep. Donnelly said. “This type of program should be part of the regular appropriations process, but it is not. That whole system needs to be fixed, but it's irresponsible to simply walk away on the people of this district.”

Former Congressman Chris Chocola also brought his fair share of earmarks to the district, but he also criticized the process. House Democrats say they've cut the number of earmarks this year in half. The taxpayer group says it was more like a quarter. This was also the first year congressmen had to disclose the earmarks to the public.