WASHINGTON - Maryland senators are seeking more than $1.4 billion this year in earmarked federal spending for hundreds of special-interest projects, according to first-ever public disclosure reports.
Big-ticket items on the senators' wish lists include the Chesapeake Bay, transportation and government construction projects. The Democrats also want to steer more than $170 million combined to private defense contractors.
Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin has filed requests totaling $1.14 billion, and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski is asking for $942.5 million.
The senators said they received more than 500 requests, seeking more than $5 billion in federal funds, from local governments, nonprofit organizations, universities, private companies and others. More than 200 projects made the cut, including more than 40, worth a total of $650 million, favored by both senators.
Heading the list: a $300 million consolidation of the Food and Drug Administration laboratories in Montgomery County; $150 million for the D.C.-area transit system; and more than $200 million for programs related to the Chesapeake Bay.
"I think it would be very unfortunate if we didn't have earmarks," said Cardin. "I don't hide from the fact that there were abuses. I don't hide from the fact that there was a lot of wasted money because of earmarks."
But the veteran lawmaker said the public needs to understand that "if Senator Mikulski and I cannot add to the budget" with an earmark, "then the Chesapeake Bay program's going to be in big trouble." The Washington area's transit system would be "in very serious trouble" without earmarked federal funding, and innovative projects, such as a University of Maryland, Baltimore center that reconstructs the facial features of military and civilian bombing victims, might never get off the ground, Cardin contended.
Critics say that earmarks should not be used to get around competitive bidding and other procedures designed to scrutinize spending and avoid waste and corruption.
This year, for the first time, all 535 senators and congressmen have been required to disclose their earmark requests on their official Web sites. The added transparency has offered the public a new look into the earmark system, but it has also exposed lawmakers to potential political embarrassment if they fail to deliver on behalf of their constituents.
Senators completed their public disclosures Friday. House members made their requests public last month.
A senior member of the Appropriations Committee, the main arbiter of the spending requests, Mikulski has been warning that earmarks are "very fragile" in the current political environment and is advising local officials to seek other sources of federal aid, such as grant programs.
Adding pet projects to spending measures with little or no public scrutiny has led to heightened criticism in recent years. President Barack Obama campaigned against earmark abuse in 2008, despite having requested earmarks as a senator from Illinois.
Cardin acknowledged that the president's attacks have caused political problems for those who try to defend the practice.
Congress and the White House have said they want to reduce the overall amount of earmarked spending, and Cardin said he expected less money would flow to projects in Maryland as a result.
Among the dozens of requests by both senators are: $20 million in transportation projects around the state related to military base relocation; $10 million for the Red Line in Baltimore; $500,000 for the Maryland Food Bank; and $1 million for diabetes screening technology sold by WellDoc Communications Inc., a Baltimore firm.
Area projects on Cardin's list include $1 million for the Baltimore mayor's office to screen young people arrested for nonviolent offenses; $1 million for the National Aquarium in Baltimore; $500,000 for Howard County's camera surveillance system; and $3 million to replace Baltimore County's 911 communications center.
Mikulski is requesting $1 million for summer youth jobs in the city; $1 million for the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation; $1.1 million for the city's gun violence reduction initiative; and $2 million for a new W. L. Gore and Associates five-layer, modular cold-weather glove for the military.
Cardin, in a rare departure for members of Congress, lists "earmarks," instead of using a more technical term, in posting his requests on his official Web site. Mikulski also links her appropriation requests to her site's home page.
