WASHINGTON - In spite of President Barack Obama's call for an end to the "old way of doing business," Maryland's members of Congress are requesting more than $1 billion worth of earmarked projects in federal spending legislation this year, disclosure reports show.
Favored Maryland projects include those related to the Chesapeake Bay, highway construction tied to military base realignment, and aid to local schools and colleges, hospitals, law enforcement and public transit systems. A variety of private firms, mainly defense contractors, could also benefit from earmarks by Marylanders.
Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger is the state's most prolific earmarker, with total requests of $964.3 million, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis. But the Baltimore County Democrat said local governments, organizations and companies in Maryland that hope to receive federal money should be prepared to wind up empty-handed.
"We're lucky if we get 20 percent of our total amount of earmarks," said Ruppersberger, a member of the Appropriations Committee, which judges all earmark requests and parcels out the money, subject to approval by the full Congress and Obama.
Obama has warned that abuse of earmarks - pet projects sponsored by individual legislators - can be wasteful and corrupt. He has called the awarding of earmarks to private companies "the single most corrupting element."
According to reports posted on their official Web sites, most Maryland members of Congress submitted earmarks that would benefit favored businesses. Obama has said he wants to change that part of the earmark system by introducing competitive bidding, but he has yet to explain how, and watchdog groups remain skeptical.
Only three House members from Maryland limited their requests to governmental agencies or nonprofit organizations - Democratic Reps. Steny H. Hoyer, Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards.
Ruppersberger, a member also of the Intelligence Committee, has requested a $60 million Cray supercomputer for the National Security Agency, the largest employer in his district, if not the state.
This year, for the first time, all House members were required to disclose their earmark requests, exposing them to potential political embarrassment if they fail to deliver on behalf of constituents.
Senators are scheduled to reveal their budget requests later in the year.
