Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) may be under federal investigation, but that’s not keeping him from what he does best. In the 2008 defense appropriations bill, his earmarks for individual projects topped The Hill’s list at $189 million. He shares $24.7 million in earmark requests with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — who’s certainly no slouch herself.
Here are some highlights:
Among Stevens’s requests are $44.2 million for access to the Joint Tanana training complex in his state; $10 million for so-called “utilidors” — an above-ground, insulated network of pipes and cables — at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska; and $2 million for hibernation genomics.While many of Stevens’s earmarks benefit his state, he also requested $6 million for a preventive medicine pilot program, as well as another $5 million for prostate disease research, both programs at the Army’s Walter Reed hospital.
Stevens’ long-time friend Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Constitution-loving Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) came in second and third for most earmarks in the bill.