Earmark requests revealed

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jun 13, 2007 by Tim Carpenter

By Tim Carpenter

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

A dozen residents of Iola, including one who had never been on an airplane, met in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda to discuss federal funding for three community projects.

"We're not talking about well-heeled lobbyists," said Iola city manager Judy Brigham, who was in the delegation. "It was 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' "

This novice delegation urged the Kansas Democrat to support a $1.5 million sewer system upgrade, $750,000 community center renovation and $500,000 public library program expansion.

Boyda was persuaded by the presentation and included at least partial funding for all three on a list of 64 projects she recommended to receive support in the federal government's new budget. Her list totals about $200 million, but she expects only a few items on her 2nd District wish list to be included in final spending bills.

Her roster includes more than $8 million for Topeka, and ranges from $25,000 for a Miami County Sheriff's Department database to identify children to $47.2 million sought by the Kansas Department of Transportation to rehabilitate the Amelia Earhart Bridge connecting Atchison to Buchanan County, Mo.

Boyda said the Iola group made a lasting impression.

"They made a beautiful presentation," Boyda said. "They had done their homework."

Boyda, who defeated Republican Rep. Jim Ryun in November, is going against tradition by disclosing her appropriation requests. Once rarely discussed in public, home-state earmarks amounting to billions of dollars are now commonplace in the annual spending bills adopted by Congress. Democrats in Congress vowed to generate public reports detailing all earmarks, but it is unclear when those comprehensive summaries will be unveiled.

Boyda said she was "disappointed" when Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said complete earmark lists wouldn't be available before the House and Senate votes on the spending bills. They might be completed in time for House-Senate negotiations on the budget.

A dozen members of Congress have revealed which earmarks they are putting leverage behind, she said.

"It's the right thing to do," Boyda said. "I would suggest that my peers from everywhere do likewise. Transparency is needed in every step of this."

In the Kansas congressional delegation, only Rep. Dennis Moore, D- Kan., had expressed similar interest Tuesday in identifying projects personally blessed in advance of committee negotiations on spending.

Moore said disclosure of earmarks would increase public confidence in the federal budget process. He expects to release his list today.

"In a time when people are increasingly distrustful of government, we have a responsibility to bring meaningful openness and accountability to Congress," he said.

Boyda's list of Topeka-area projects includes $200,000 to limit flooding, $500,000 for renovation of Constitution Hall, $695,000 for development of Overland Station, $800,000 for Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority technology, $1 million for an Interstate 70 viaduct realignment, $2.5 million for south Topeka sewer and water upgrades, and $3 million for replacement of Topeka transit buses.

Others of interest include $300,000 for flood reduction in Rossville, $400,000 for preharvest food safety at Kansas State University, $1.5 million for Ottawa's recreation center, $2 million for road improvements at Clinton Lake, and $6.5 million for reconstruction of K-20 highway between US-75 highway and Horton.

Boyda said funding for these earmarks would be drawn from money set aside for each federal agency. The district-by-district appropriations process is better than giving a handful of lawmakers full authority to decide where funds go, she said.

"The result is, or can be, a more responsive, efficient federal government," she said.

Earmarks have been criticized because they were handed out by party leaders and committee chairmen in exchange for votes on key pieces of legislation. The National Taxpayers Union says anonymous earmarks encourage wasteful spending.

"The earmark process has been abused in the past," Boyda said. "Members of Congress have set aside funds for programs that turned out to personally benefit them."

She said members now submit statements declaring whether they have a financial interest in an earmark request.

Tim Carpenter can be reached

at (785) 295-1158 or

timothy.carpenter@cjonline.com.