Earmarks: Why Alaska Isn't Left Out In the Cold

By: Sharyl Attkisson
Topics: Politics

(CBS)

Sharyl Attkisson is investigative correspondent for CBS News.

One of the maddening things about the system of Congressional earmarks, as it exists today, is how unfair the distribution of the wealth can be.

There are normal budgetary competitive and grant processes by which all types of worthy projects can receive federal funding: museums, art projects, scientific research, assistance for poor regions, and much more.

However, earmarks bypass the normal system and result in giving federal money to people or projects often handpicked by a single member of Congress.

In other words: it's who you know. It's the access you have. And how much you get depends on the power that your Senator or Representative has. If yours is a freshman member not serving in a leadership role on any important committees well, you're probably not gonna get a lot. If you're not someone who is seen as friendly to the Senator or Representative well, you're probably not gonna get a lot.

But if your Senator is like Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the leading Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, who's been around Capitol Hill going on 40 years now, you stand to get a whole lot.

Thanks to Senator Stevens, research money has been given to Alaska researchers—whether or not they may be the best at what they're trying to do, and whether or not the research is a national priority. Stevens made it happen. Thanks to Senator Stevens, the Alaska salmon industry has received tens of millions of federal dollars. To be sure, the industry is grateful for the money and extra promotion, but there are plenty of ailing industries and regions in the nation equally as deserving or in need… but not getting the same money because they don't have as powerful a Senator scooping up federal money for them.

Of course, as one Stevens critic pointed out, the knife cuts both ways. Stevens is 83-years-old and won't be the senior Senator from Alaska forever. He'll eventually be replaced by someone who isn't head of a powerful spending committee and doesn't have the same clout. Suddenly, says the critic, millions upon millions that Alaska has been getting for years will disappear. They'll go instead to a more senior, powerful Senator from another state. Alaska will be left in the cold.

Tonight our story on the CBS Evening News highlights just how much sparsely populated Alaska is getting in earmark dollars, thanks in large part to one Senator.

Earmarks: not necessarily fair, but great for those who are getting them. While they last.

Sharyl Attkisson
Sharyl Attkisson is a CBS News investigative correspondent based in Washington. All of her stories, videos and blogs are available here.
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by mcdonaj3 October 14, 2007 2:02 PM EDT: It''s amazing how Alaskans, and others, justify wasteful spending. Earmarks are bad because they are based on politics and not on merit. To a politician, "bang for buck" means how many votes will he get, not how many people will be helped.; Reply to this comment


by scottm99835 October 13, 2007 7:25 AM EDT: Full disclosure: I live in Alaska.

So, did you really do your research? How much of this so-called federal "Stevens" money is spent on Alaska as payment in lieu of taxes? Did you disaggregate the dollars spent on U.S. military infastructure in Alaska, or did your research begin and end with the bridge and Salmon plane?

Does it matter that the East Coast establishment pulled 240,000 sq miles off the table for development in the form of reserves (yes miles, not acres; Texas = 270,000 sq miles) and another 115,000 sq miles in BLM holdings. Does it matter that Alaska is handcuffed from developing it''s own resource base to uphold your college''s board of regents enviro-political agenda?

Consider the congressionally vetted dollars that are spent on trying to kick start a new state into the type of economy that you enjoy in the East as cheap rent for the National Park you have turned Alaska into. Allowing Ivy League Executive Branch agency heads who know little more about Alaska that what their professors warned them about to usurp our electorate and congressional delegation on matters relating to our ability to self determine will not serve our state or future.

I hope Ted has another 20 years in him.; Reply to this comment


by scottm99835 October 13, 2007 7:24 AM EDT: Full disclosure: I live in Alaska.

So, did you really do your research? How much of this so-called federal "Stevens" money is spent on Alaska as payment in lieu of taxes? Did you disaggregate the dollars spent on U.S. military infastructure in Alaska, or did your research begin and end with the bridge and Salmon plane?

Does it matter that the East Coast establishment pulled 240,000 sq miles off the table for development in the form of reserves (yes miles, not acres; Texas = 270,000 sq miles) and another 115,000 sq miles in BLM holdings. Does it matter that Alaska is handcuffed from developing it''s own resource base to uphold your college''s board of regents enviro-political agenda?

Consider the congressionally vetted dollars that are spent on trying to kick start a new state into the type of economy that you enjoy in the East as cheap rent for the National Park you have turned Alaska into. Allowing Ivy League Executive Branch agency heads who know little more about Alaska that what their professors warned them about to usurp our electorate and congressional delegation on matters relating to our ability to self determine will not serve our state or future.

I hope Ted has another 20 years in him.; Reply to this comment


by ak4ever1 October 13, 2007 1:03 AM EDT: Sharyl, come to Alaska, meet the people whose state you''ve harmed with your story on Sen. Stevens. Don''t get me wrong - if the guy and his son are guilty of corruption and other crimes, then they deserve to go to jail. But understand, Pt. Mackenzie is IMPORTANT to the growth of businesses and the creation of jobs in the fastest growing borough in Alaska and Salmon is second only to oil in this state for the jobs that are created. It''s bad enough that the rest of the country couldn''t care less about Alaska, but you don''t need to go out of your way to harm our wonderfull state. If you want a good story on Alaska, please come up, look around, and understand the importance of the oil, coal, and seafoods that come out of this state to the rest of the US, understand our state''s strategic importance to the US, and let us show you that we''re not the Cast Off State. We matter just as much as New York and California - maybe more.; Reply to this comment