Back in January, Mediamouse.org reported that West Michigan's legislative delegation--Representative Vern Ehlers and Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow had secured millions of dollars in "earmarks" contained within appropriations bills passed by the legislature. Earmarks, which are spending provisions requested by individual members of Congress that target taxpayer dollars to specific projects and recipients, are inserted into government spending bills with little discussion and debate.

The numbers we cited back in January were preliminary, but now Citizens Against Government Waste's annual "Congressional Pig Book" has a complete list generated by examining the 12 appropriations bills passed in 2007. West Michigan legislators secured millions of dollars for a variety of projects including subsidies for military contractors, funding for various projects, research, assistance to various youth projects, and assistance to city governments. While some of the projects were probably worth funding, a more transparent means of doing so needs to be used. Moreover, the fact that despite all the attention that has been focused on earmarks in recent years they continue to be awarded, shows that simple transparency is not enough and that legislation regulating or banning the practice is needed.