Putting the pork on Congress' pulldown menus

WASHINGTON - Pork is having a coming out of sorts in Congress.

Prodded by reformers who want to shed light on the time-honored process of sending federal tax dollars back home, House members from Minnesota and the rest of the nation have begun posting earmark requests on their official websites -- most for the first time.

But that doesn't mean all of Minnesota's $580 million in 2010 earmark requests -- coming a month after a bruising battle over the current year's spending -- are sitting out in plain view.

Most Minnesotans in Congress, like politicians across the nation, require the public to navigate to their lists of spending requests through a labyrinth of mouse clicks, drop-down menus and specialized language, such as "Constituent Services" and "Constituent Inspired Funding."

"For some people, this is their Easter egg hunt," said Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group that tracks congressional earmarks. "Some lawmakers are taking it more seriously than others."

Only one Minnesotan, conservative Democrat Rep. Collin Peterson, puts a link to his "project requests" front and center at the top of his home page. Peterson lists 23 earmarks worth a total of $41 million, much of it for farm, road, and military-related spending in his northwest Minnesota district.

Another Democrat, Rep. Tim Walz from the southern part of the state, links to his requests at the bottom of a news release that describes his role as a champion of the new rules requiring members of Congress to post their earmarks on the Web, which Walz has done since he took office in 2007.

But earmark critics see little more than window dressing in the new Internet disclosure rules, which took effect last Saturday.

"The fatal flaw in the earmarking process is that projects are still being prioritized by a member's seniority and party affiliation, rather than allowing them to compete on their own merit," said Troy Young, a spokesman for Rep. John Kline.

Kline and fellow Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann have pledged to stop taking earmarks, which they say are inherently political and corrupt. Neither lists any earmark requests for the 2010 budget year, which begins in October.

Defending their marks

The anti-earmark pledge is not being taken up by freshman Republican Rep. Erik Paulsen, who posted a dozen earmark requests worth more than $25 million, mostly for major road improvements in his west suburban district. Paulsen, who lists his earmarks under "constituent services," said they can withstand public scrutiny.

Not surprisingly, the state's top earmarker, Iron Range Democrat Rep. Jim Oberstar, is also its senior member in Congress. Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has his name on $254 million in earmarks, though nearly two-thirds of that amount is for national education programs and environmental and navigation upgrades on the Upper Mississippi River.

Oberstar, who coined the term "Constituent Inspired Funding" to describe the spending requests on his website, argues that it is appropriate for elected officials to direct federal money in response to constituent requests.

Oberstar introduces the earmark requests on his website noting, "One of our most basic constitutional rights is the right to petition."

That is also the view of Twin Cities Democratic Reps. Keith Ellison ($212 million in 2010 earmarks listed on a drop-down menu under "Services"), and Betty McCollum ($102 million listed as appropriations requests under "On the Issues").

Like Oberstar, more than half of Ellison's and McCollum's 2010 earmarks are for national education or river programs, rather than for pet projects in their districts. But the Twin Cities would stand to gain plenty in building and transportation projects if all their projects are funded. Social service programs would come out well, too.

Confronting Pawlenty

The new disclosure rule has not eased McCollum's feud with Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who remains an earmark critic. Pawlenty has refused to accede to McCollum's demand that state appropriations requests for 2010 be accompanied by a statement in support of the earmarks, saying it holds Minnesota to a different standard than other states.

In response, McCollum has held off on Pawlenty's funding requests, including a number of projects for the Minnesota National Guard. Those projects are being earmarked instead by others in the state's delegation.

Some could also be inserted in the Senate, where the disclosure rules don't kick in for another month. Democrat Amy Klobuchar, who remains Minnesota's only U.S. senator while the 2008 Senate race is contested in court, began posting her earmark requests on the Web last year.

Klobuchar's 2010 earmark requests have not yet been made public. But, she said in a statement, the Web posting will be "one step in a critical process."