WASHINGTON, D.C. — Every year Congressional lawmakers seek to insert spending requests in the annual appropriations bills. These earmarked dollars usually go to fund state-specific projects and endeavors.
But these requests, which have led to questionable projects like the infamous bridge to nowhere in Alaska, are not without controversy. In an effort add transparency to the process, representatives and senators were told by Congressional leaders to post their earmark requests on their websites this year.
This map shows a geographical layout of Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s earmark requests for fiscal year 2010. You can click on any item to learn the size and purpose of that earmark.
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Click here for an 800×550 pixel version of this map.
Since the U.S. Senate race between Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken was not resolved until June, Klobuchar was the only senator from Minnesota to make earmark requests this year.
MinnPost will be adding to this map with more information about requests from Minnesota’s U.S. representative as well as another map of earmarks that have been approved.
A note about the map
The following earmark requests from Klobuchar were not included on the map because they involve multi-state requests or requests for states other than Minnesota:
Enhancing Barley Through Genomics: Minnesota Barley Growers Association on the behalf of Oregon State University; $800,000; Corvallis, Ore.
Lewis and Clark Regional Water System: $35 million; Luverne, Minn., and Sioux Falls, S.D.
Medical Education and Simulation Training: Gundersen Lutheran Health System; $500,000; Lacrosse, Wis.
Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; $35 million; Rock Island District in Illinois.
Upper Mississippi River Clean Water Act Initiative: Upper Mississippi River Basin Association; $200,000; Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin.
Cynthia Dizikes covers Minnesota’s congressional delegation and reports on issues and developments in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at cdizikes[at]minnpost[dot]com.
“Enhancing Barley Through Genomics: Minnesota Barley Growers Association on the behalf of Oregon State University; $800,000; Corvallis, Ore.”
So Senator Klobuchar is pushing genetic engineering. Wonderful! Just what the world needs!!!
really appreciate the info in the article – and the map seems a practical tool for web viewing
Just happened to catch up on my MinnPost reading when I decided to check out what Senator Klobuchar is trying to do.
First, the article is great in telling us that the Senator is doing her Constitutional and mandated duties as well as “openly” showing us the diverse constituent requests for assistance. After taking the time to review all the requests [labeled ‘earmarks’] that the Senator is trying to get funding for, I say “Bravo!” for her doing her job for Minnesotans.
Forget the politics and Bologna that many rabid histrionic pseudo-political pundits or naysayers may attach to these requests. This list shows the diversity of needs that need to be addressed by her office.
Granted, a couple of projects might be more scrutinized than others as to need et cetera but you can’t deny Senator Klobuchar is doing her job for us all.