Seattle Times Story: Defense Favor Factory , With Local Details.

New Seattle Times examination of earmarks in the Defense appropriations bill.

Story is HERE.

Included is link to a searchable Favor Factory database they set up HERE, that allows searches and details by state, and Congressional member.

HERE is a search link that shows all Oregon delegation members.

Smith tops Oregon list with $57 Million; Walden had the lowest in Oregon at $8.9 Million.

HERE is search link to Oregon companies. While I wear and like New Balance shoes, not sure they need the $2.4 Million earmark for cold weather equipment.

Palin Gubenatorial Per Capita Earmarks for FY 08-09 Are 26 Times Obama's.

WSJ today has good story HERE detailing the earmarks requested for Alaska for FY 2008 and (the upcoming) FY 2009. (These are state earmarks not those requested by Palin while she was mayor).

After doing the math, appears that for every $1 of earmarks per capita requested by Obama for FY 08-09, Palin has requested $26.45.

Comparison	Palin	Obama
FY 2008	$ 256,000,000	$ 322,000,000
FY 2009	$ 197,000,000	$ -
FY08-09	$ 453,000,000	$ 322,000,000
State Population	683,478	12,852,548
Per Capita, FY08-09	$ 662.79	$ 25.05
FY 08-09 Ratio, Palin to Obama	26.45

AP Earmark Stories and Database Links.

It's been a while since I have posted, I know.

Association Press Managing Editors site has an interesting round up of earmark stories from this year HERE. Site also includes links to several searchable earmark databases.

Senate Rejects Budget Earmark Moratorium Amendment by Wide Margin, Including Both Oregon Senators.

An effort to amend the Senate budget bill to include a one year moratorium on earmarks was defeated soundly yesterday by a vote of 71-29. The amendment was rejected soundly by both Republicans and Democrats; however all remaining presidential candidates voted FOR the amendment while both Oregon Senators voted AGAINST the moratorium.

A LA Times story on the defeat of the earmark moratorium can be found HERE.

CRS Report on Earmark Executive Order.

Congressional Research Service report on new Executive Order restricting agency heads ability to consider earmarks not found in statute can be found as a PDF HERE.

From the report:
"The provisions of Executive Order 13,457 may significantly influence the dynamic that has traditionally governed executive and legislative practice with regard to non statutory earmarks, but the order itself appears to fall within the accepted parameters of presidential authority in the executive order context. Courts have acknowledged a premise upon which the order appears to be based: Earmarks in legislative history documents and other sources that are not anchored in statutory text have no legal force or effect".....

" Congress has options such as expressly including earmarks in the texts of statutes or statutorily incorporating by reference earmarks in legislative history documents. These congressional responses may ameliorate the impact of the order.