Why did tweaking the Ted Stevens Airport ...

...matter more than protecting this American City from ruin?


Or providing adequate equipment for these soldiers?


Maybe we should have renamed New Orleans Bushylvania, or rebranded body armor as "DeLay Jackets"? Maybe then they would have gotten a couple of bucks thrown at them?

Molly Ivins gets it right in the Chicago Tribune

Why New Orleans is in deep water

Molly Ivins, Creators Syndicate
Published September 1, 2005
...

This is not "just politics" or blaming for political advantage. This is about the real consequences of what governments do and do not do about their responsibilities. And about who winds up paying the price for those policies.

This is a column for everyone in the path of Hurricane Katrina who ever said, "I'm sorry, I'm just not interested in politics," or, "There's nothing I can do about it," or, "Eh, they're all crooks anyway."

Nothing to do with me, nothing to do with my life, nothing I can do about any of it. Look around you this morning. I suppose the National Rifle Association would argue, "Government policies don't kill people, hurricanes kill people." Actually, hurricanes plus government policies kill people.
...

Just plain political bad luck that, in June, Bush took his little ax and chopped $71.2 million from the budget of the New Orleans Corps of Engineers, a 44 percent reduction. As was reported in New Orleans CityBusiness at the time, that meant "major hurricane and flood projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now."

The commander of the corps' New Orleans district also immediately instituted a hiring freeze and canceled the annual corps picnic.

Our friends at the Center for American Progress note the Office of Technology Assessment used to produce forward-thinking plans such as "Floods: A National Policy Concern" and "A Framework for Flood Hazards Management." Unfortunately, the office was targeted by Newt Gingrich and the Republican right, and gutted years ago.

In fact, there is now a governmentwide movement away from basing policy on science, expertise and professionalism, and in favor of choices based on ideology. If you're wondering what the ideological position on flood management might be, look at the pictures of New Orleans--it seems to consist of gutting the programs that do anything.
...

The levees of New Orleans, two of which are now broken and flooding the city, were also victims of Iraq war spending. Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, said on June 8, 2004, "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq."

This, friends, is why we need to pay attention to government policies, not political personalities, and to know whereon we vote. It is about our lives.

I don’t mind some government pork that much. Yes, when it comes to belt tightening, it is true that I’d rather sacrifice the funding for Steam Town than Head Start, but then again, I’m a Progressive.

I believe that national problems – like clean air and water, security, education, health – require national solutions.

I believe in Capitalism...contained. You want to make a mint, terrific. I’m all for that, but if your business uses public services and relies on police and fire protection, the air not killing you, the roads being passable and the workforce being educated, well then you can fucking well kick in for those things, ya’ moochin’ bastard.

I believe that only the countervailing force of a strong national government can hold Big Business in check and keep it from bulldozing the place form sea to shining sea to improve the bottom line. Making a profit and satisfying the shareholding are the natural drivers of business, and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as there is a socially conscious foot tapping the brake enough so that we aren’t driven off a cliff.

I believe what goes for keeping Big Business in check goes double for Big Religion. And then cube that.

So I believe in a stong national government that can do these things.

However there is another Party in power now that believes in a weak or non-existent national government, which is ironic given that they ARE the government now – they control every branch, every committee and every agenda.

This other Party believes states and individuals should basically root, hog or die. Fend for yourself, and if you fail, fuck you. Please die and get out of their way. Kind of a mingy, heartless and mean-spirited dogma -– especially since a staggering number of these mean little bastards STRONGLY identify themselves and their Party and not only Christian...but a Damned Sight Better Bunch of Christians than anyone else on the face of the Earth –- but it’s their dogma nonetheless: it’s printed right there on the letterhead.

This Party is made up mostly of White Guys, in a nation where being a White Guy comes with a lot of perks. For about 400 years there was a very aggressive Affirmative Action program for White Guys in this country that basically boiled down to this; If you were a White Guy, you could probably get that job. If you weren’t a White Guy, you were chattel of one kind or another.

And if you bitched about this arrangement, you would very likely find yourself dead.

Needless to say, the White Guys who made out like king rats under this Affirmative Action program liked this system a bunch.

They went to war to protected it – twice. The murdered and terrorized a LOT of people and perverted a major religion to keep things just the way they likes 'em. The rewrote the law to make it impossible for their now-former chattel to vote or own property or compete with them in a free market.

And once the chattel kicked and clawed and bled their way into the voting booth, college and the workplace...the White Guys suddenly got all righteous and teary-eyed and wistful for Fairness and hiring on Merit and so forth.

Touching, really, in a sudden-prison-Come-to-Jebus-conversion-so-I-can-get-conjugals-and-make-parole kinda way. Transparently ridiculous – these newly-minted Meritocracy Temperance Preachers still have the reek of Segregationist Corn Likker on their breath -- but a kind of progress I suppose, and progress that simply would never have happened without a strong national government to FORCE them at the tip of a bayonet to stop holding people as slaves and electing terrorists and murderers.

So there is one group who see the need for an activist Federal Government...and another group who think that people should fend for themselves. Who, having backed five years of tax cuts for billionaires, are now crying poomouth and do-it-yourself. We just didn’t have the money to fund things like properly protecting the city of New Orleans.

Scarce resources, dontcha know. And there IS a war on that has, to-date, cost roughly 300 times more than the White House said it would.

Really? We don’t have the money?

Well now...

Just for fun, I decided to go out to the internets and sniff around, so here, for your information, is a list of all the Pork Barrel Projects that have been awarded to a single Senator in a single state.

Senator Ted Stevens.

Small Gummint Republican Senator Ted Stevens. The man after whom so many federally funded highways and schools and airports are named up in the relatively hurricane-free state of Alaska.

Why pick on Teddy-boy?

First, because he is King Pork. In fact, the ladling out of taxpayer money to idiot pet projects has exploded under the Party of Small Gummint, who are, in turn, the largest recipients. And Ted has his Small Gummint beak buried further and deeper in the slop bucket than anyone else...all so he can bring home federal bacon by the freight-car job-lot for himself and the other nine residents of the great state of Alaska.

Second, because Republican hypocrisy is yet again show to be absolutely bottomless.

Third, because every dollar spent on these projects – and thousands of others – is a dollar that wasn’t spent on body armor for our kids in Iraq, on equipment for First Responders, or on unsexy projects like properly protecting the City of New Orleans from disaster.

Of course some of these projects look pretty important and should probably be funded – and lot of others are just plain idiotic.

That’s not the point.

The point is that each and every one of these projects was more important in the minds of Small Gummint Republican Senators like Ted Stevens than the death of soldiers in Iraq and the potential destruction of a Great American City.

Me? I think ALL vital projects should be funded, but then again, I'm an Evil Liberal.

I belong to a Party that believes that Federal Government has an important role to play protecting and assisting the average citizen, so I have no problem with the idea of rolling back tax cuts for billionaires to pay for national priorities.

Small Gummint Republican Senators like Ted Stevens do not.

And here is the list of what Small Gummint Republican Senator Ted Stevens obviously thought was more important than Iraq, New Orleans or Homeland security...

(Courtesy of the Citizens Against Government Waste-- all I did was drop it into Excel and sort it in ascending order by cost.)

$50,000 Cold Bay [Small Navigation Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$50,000 Alaska Regional Airports (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$50,000 Adak (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$50,000 Shishmaref [Streambank & Shoreline Protection for Public Facilities] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$50,000 Kwethluk [Streambank & Shoreline Protection for Public Facilities] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$50,000 Klawack Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$50,000 Craig Transit JARC (Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants - Federal Transit Adminstration)
$70,000 Seward [Streambank & Shoreline Protection for Public Facilities] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$70,000 Deering [Streambank & Shoreline Protection for Public Facilities] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$75,000 Savoonga [Small Navigation Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$75,000 Douglas [Small Navigation Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$75,000 Anchorage Harbor deepening (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$75,000 Skagway River (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$75,000 Eklutna [Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$75,000 North Star Borough Transit JARC (Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants - Federal Transit Adminstration)
$83,000 Haines Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$98,000 Alaska Sea Otter Commission (Operation of Indian Programs - Bureau of Indian Affairs)
$100,000 Enforcement of crime identification assistance for the city of Kodiak (Law Enforcement Technology - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$100,000 Point Hope [Small Beach Erosion Control Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$100,000 Craig Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$100,000 Coffman Cove (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$100,000 Mekoryuk Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$100,000 Little Diomede Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$100,000 Knik Bridge Crossing (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$100,000 Ketchikan Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$100,000 Alaska Geological Materials Center (Geologic Hazards, Resources & Processes - United States Geological Survey)
$100,000 Chugiak Senior Citizens, Inc., Chugiak for facilities and equipment (Health Resources and Services Administration - Department of Health and Human Services)
$100,000 Alaska Hospitality Alliance Education Foundation, Anchorage, for high school hospitality industry training programs (Fund for the Improvement of Education)
$100,000 University of Alaska/Southeast to develop distance education coursework for Arctic engineering courses and programs (Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education)
$100,000 Southeast Island School District to develop two-way interactive video conferencing to provide special education services at nine isolated school sites (Dept. of Ed.)
$100,000 Anchorage's Promise of Anchorage, to implement America's promise child mentoring and support program in Anchorage (Fund for the Improvement of Education)
$100,000 Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, for the PLATO Learning System (Fund for the Improvement of Education - Department of Education)
$100,000 Stone Soup Group, Anchorage, for services to disabled children and their families, focusing on FAS/FAE children (Public Health Improvement and Leadership - Health and Human Services)
$100,000 City of Wrangell in Wrangell, for its Avenues Program to provide comprehensive substance abuse treatment (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment - SAMHSA)
$100,000 Camp Fire USA of Alaska, for an after school program in Anchorage, (Fund for the Improvement of Education - Department of Education)
$100,000 Veterans Wheelchair Olympic Games (Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants - Federal Transit Adminstration)
$125,000 Unalakeet [Small Beach Erosion Control Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$125,000 McGrath (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$125,000 Matanska River erosion (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$125,000 Black Lake [Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$125,000 Northway [Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$150,000 Aleut Marine Mammal Commission (NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles)
$150,000 Valdez Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$150,000 Homer Harbor modification (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$150,000 Alaska Whaling Commission (Royalty and Offshore Minerals Management - Minerals Management Service)
$150,000 University of Alaska/Southeast, Ketchikan Campus, to provide skills assessment, training and a certification program for Ketchikan shipyard workers (ETA - Dept. of Labor)
$150,000 Kenai Peninsula Independent Living Center, for its Total Recreation and Independent Living Services Project (Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research - Department of Education)
$150,000 Alaska Botanical Garden in Anchorage for expansions and renovations (Economic Development Initiative)
$150,000 Friends of Eagle River Nature Center, Inc. in Eagle River for costs associated with the construction of a community visitor center (Economic Development Initiative)
$160,000 Seafood waste research, Fairbanks (Agricultural Research Service: Salaries and Expenses)
$167,000 Salmon quality standards (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Research and Education Activities)
$175,000 Unalaska Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$175,000 Chester Creek [Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$175,000 Love Social Services in Fairbanks for expansion (Economic Development Initiative)
$200,000 South Central Alaska Search and Rescue Training Project for the Alaska Police Department (State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Discretionary Grant)
$200,000 Fort Yukon [Small Flood Control Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$200,000 Alaska Wood Biomass Project (Renewable Energy Resources - Department of Energy)
$200,000 Chugach Avalanche Center (Economic Action Program - Department of Agriculture)
$200,000 Alyeska Roundhouse (Historic Preservation Fund - National Parks Service)
$200,000 Southeast Alaska Independent Living, Juneau, to continue a joint recreation and employment project with the Tlingit and Haida Tribe of Alaska (RSDR - Department of Education)
$200,000 Challenge Alaska, Anchorage, for a comprehensive recreation program benefiting people and families with disabilities of all ages (RSDR - Department of Education)
$200,000 Volunteers of America/AK, in cooperation with the AK Dept. of HHS, for a respite camp for children being raised by grandparents in Alaska
$200,000 Anchorage School District, to implement the PLATO Learning Program (Fund for the Improvement of Education - Department of Education)
$200,000 Fairbanks North Star Borough School District for the 4 R (Reading, Reasoning, Relationships and Relevance) Children's Program (Fund for the Improvement of Education)
$200,000 Akeela, Inc., in Anchorage, to continue its Re-Entry Program for newly released prisoners with substance abuse problems (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment - SAMHSA)
$200,000 Cook Inlet Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Kenai, for treatment of women and children with substance abuse problems on the Kenai Peninsula (SAMHSA)
$200,000 MASCOT, Mat-su Valley (Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants - Federal Transit Adminstration)
$200,000 Seward Transit JARC (Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants - Federal Transit Adminstration)
$200,000 Alzheimer Disease Resource Agency of Alaska in Anchorage for capital improvements to its facility to provide in home care services, respite care, and training of personal care attendants (EDI)
$210,000 Alaska statewide DARE coordinator and implementation of new DARE curriculum (State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Discretionary Grant)
$225,000 Crime scene examination enhancement for the State of Alaska (State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Discretionary Grant)
$225,000 Salcha [Small Flood Control Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$225,000 Skagway [Small Flood Control Projects] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$225,000 Unalakeet Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$225,000 Cook Inlet Tribal Council for the Alaska's People Program in Anchorage (Employment and Training Administration - Department of Labor)
$250,000 Bering Sea Aleut Island non-pollock groundfish buyback (NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, Fish)
$250,000 Partners for Downtown Progress (State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Discretionary Grant)
$250,000 State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services in Juneau for implementation of its Frontier Extended Stay Clinic Demonstration Project (HRSA - HHS)
$250,000 Northwest Arctic Borough School District, Kotzebue, for vocational training (Employment and Training Administration - Department of Labor)
$250,000 Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, for a Marine Ecosystems Education Program (Fund for the Improvement of Education - Department of Education)
$250,000 University of Alaska Statewide Office for the University of Alaska Leadership Institute/Center for Civics Democracy (Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education)
$250,000 University of Alaska Fairbanks for the continuation of the Alaska Digital Archives Project (Institute of Museum & Library Sciences - Department of Education)
$250,000 Ilisagvik College in Barrow, for infrastructure improvements in Barrow and North Slope villages to improve access to distance education courses provided by the college (FIPE)
$250,000 State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Juneau, for an Injury Prevention Program (Public Health Improvement and Leadership - Health and Human Services)
$250,000 State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Behavioral Health, Juneau, for the Targeted Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention Training and Public Education Program (CMHS - SAMHSA)
$250,000 Alaska statehood celebration, University of Alaska (Operating Expenses - General Services Administration)
$250,000 City of Skagway for water system upgrades (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$265,000 Training academy driver simulator for the state of Alaska (Law Enforcement Technology - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$284,000 Ethnobotany research (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Research and Education Activities - Special Research Grants)
$300,000 Togiak NWR, Visitor Center (Construction - Fish and Wildlife Service)
$300,000 Cook Inlet Tribal Council (Wildland Fire Management - Department of Agriculture)
$300,000 Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network, Anchorage to support activities of the Alaska Telemedicine Advisory Committee (Health Resources and Services Admin - HHS)
$300,000 Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage, in cooperation with the Koahnic Broadcasting Corporation for its Elders Oral History Project (Institute of Museum & Library Sciences)
$300,000 Ak Statewide Ind. Living Council, to cont. and exp. its Pers.l Care Attendant Prog. and outreach efforts to the disabled living in rural AK (RSDR - Dept. of Ed)
$300,000 North Slope Borough School District, for an Early Childhood Education Program for children in North Slope Borough villages (Fund for the Improvement of Education)
$300,000 Alaska Online Consortium in Delta Junction, for middle school writing math courses for online delivery across Alaska (Fund for the Improvement of Education - Department of Education)
$300,000 City of Anchorage, for support of the Veterans Wheelchair Games in Alaska (Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research - Department of Education)
$300,000 Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage to continue support of its Rural Alaska Native Adult Distance Education Program (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education)
$300,000 Covenant House Alaska to expand services to runaway and homeless youth in the Anchorage area (Social Services & Income Maintenance - Administration for Children and Families)
$300,000 Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc., Wasilla for programs at Knik Manor (Administration on Aging - Health & Human Services)
$300,000 Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Anchorage, Fairbanks and S.E. Anchorage, for a comprehensive mentoring program for at-risk children (Fund for the Improvement of Education)
$300,000 North Star Council on Aging in Fairbanks for costs associated with the construction of the Fairbanks Senior Center (Economic Development Initiative)
$300,000 Juneau Family Birth Center for the construction of a one-stop family resources center (Economic Development Initiative)
$300,000 Matanuska-Susitna Borough for water wells for Gorsuch Lake (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$315,000 Obtain/evaluate materials for cold region seeds of plants in conjunction with the Alaska Division of Agriculture (Conservation Operations)
$315,000 Native plant materials [evaluating and developing] (Conservation Operations)
$325,000 Pacific Northwest Bi-National Regional Energy Planning Initiative (Electricity Transmission and Distribution - Department of Energy)
$325,000 Rainbow Connection for a program of therapeutic horseback riding for the disabled in the Mat-su Valley region (Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research - Department of Education)
$334,000 Food preparation and marketing (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Extension Activities)
$344,000 Food quality (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Research and Education Activities - Special Research Grants)
$346,000 Chugach Regional Resources Commission (Operation of Indian Programs - Bureau of Indian Affairs)
$350,000 Community Association of Hyder for costs associated with the construction of a high speed water plant (Economic Development Initiative)
$358,000 Seed research (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Research and Education Activities - Special Research Grants)
$375,000 Delong Mountain Harbor (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$375,000 Eklutna River Watershed (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$375,000 Saint George navigation improvements (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$375,000 Regional haze monitoring in the state of Alaska (Environmental Programs and Management - EPA)
$392,000 Alaska legal services (Operation of Indian Programs - Bureau of Indian Affairs)
$400,000 GIS-based mapping/hyperspectral imaging of agriculture lands (Conservation Operations)
$400,000 Yukon River Treaty implementation (Resource Management - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
$400,000 Alaska Psychiatric Institute, Anchorage for its Telebehavioral Health Project (Health Resources and Services Administration - Department of Health and Human Services)
$400,000 Catholic Community Services of Juneau to continue operations at its Family Resource Center for child abuse prevention and treatment (Child Abuse)
$400,000 City of Ketchikan for Mountain Point Water System (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$425,000 Gulf of Alaska Coastal Communities Coalition (NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, Other Activities Supporting Fisheries)
$425,000 University of Alaska/Anchorage to continue program to recruit and retain Alaska Natives as nurses (Health Resources and Services Administration - HHS)
$425,000 City of Wrangell for water and sewer upgrades (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$435,000 Alaska Christian College, Soldotna, for student scholarships, recruitment and salaries (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education - Department of Education)
$447,000 New crop opportunities (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Research and Education Activities - Special Research Grants)
$449,000 Greenhouse crop production (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Research and Education Activities - Special Research Grants)
$450,000 Circumpolar Infrastructure Task Force of the Arctic Council and Northern Forum (Transportation Planning, Research & Development - Secretary of Transportation)
$475,000 Alaska Educational Services in Anchorage, for its Youth Summer Challenge Program (Fund for the Improvement of Education - Department of Education)
$476,000 Food product development (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Extension Activities)
$500,000 Kenai erosion control (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$500,000 Municipality of Anchorage to remove dead and dying trees caused by Spruce Bark beetle, state and community fire assistance (Wildland Fire Management - Department of Agriculture)
$500,000 Chugach National Forest, Valdez Visitor Center (Capital Improvement and Maintenance - Department of Agriculture)
$500,000 Staffing at King Cove clinic (Indian Health Services - Department of Health and Human Services)
$500,000 Alaska SeaLife Center, Seabird Research Facility (Construction - Fish and Wildlife Service)
$500,000 Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development in Juneau to fund training for gas pipeline workers (Employment and Training Administration - Department of Labor)
$500,000 University of Alaska/Fairbanks and University of Alaska/Anchorage to continue Alaska Natives in Psychology (ANPSYCH) Program (HRSA - HHS)
$500,000 University of Alaska/Anchorage for its Geriatric and Disabled Care Training Program (Health Resources and Services Administration - Department of Health and Human Services)
$500,000 Alaska Family Practice Residency Program, Anchorage to support its family practice residency programs (Health Resources and Services Administration - Department of HHS)
$500,000 Re-Inventing School Coalition of Anchorage, to expand its Alaska Quality Schools Model (Fund for the Improvement of Education - Department of Education)
$500,000 State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Development for the Alaska Community Pre School Project (FIE - Department of Education)
$500,000 Nome Public Schools for the NW AK Career and Techn. Center to provide variety of vocational training courses to high school students in Nome, and the Bering Straits region (FIE)
$500,000 Southwest Alaska Vocational Education Center (SAVEC), King Salmon, for its vocational training (Employment and Training Administration - Department of Labor)
$500,000 University of Alaska/Southeast for the Alaska Distance Education Technology Consortium (Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education)
$500,000 Sheldon Jackson College, Sitka, for the Adult Learners Program (Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education)
$500,000 Galena School District, to support operation of its boarding school for low performing Native students from remote villages across Western Alaska (Fund for the Improvement of Education)
$500,000 State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Juneau, for an Obesity Prevention and Control Program (Public Health Improvement and Leadership - Health and Human Services)
$500,000 State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Juneau, for tuberculosis detection and control (Public Health Improvement and Leadership - Health and Human Services)
$500,000 AK Lung Associ. in Anchorage, with the Asthma and Allergy Found. of AK and the AK Native Health Board for programs to prevent lung disease stemming from tobacco (PHIL - HHS)
$500,000 Salvation Army of Anchorage to support detox programs at the Clitheroe Center in Anchorage (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment - SAMHSA)
$500,000 Fairbanks Native Association for treatment programs at the Ralph Perdue Center (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment - SAMHSA)
$500,000 Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for the Fairbanks Community Initiative for Chronic Inebriates (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment - SAMHSA)
$500,000 Nikiski emergency escape road (National Corridor Planning and Border Development Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$500,000 Craig/Klawock Airport, various improvements (Grants in Aid for Airports - Federal Aviation Administration)
$500,000 Keystone Drive (Soldotna) (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$500,000 Mobility Coalition (Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants - Federal Transit Adminstration)
$500,000 Shishmaref for the construction of barriers (Economic Development Initiative)
$500,000 Special Olympics, Anchorage, for costs associated with the construction of a training center for disabled children (Economic Development Initiative)
$500,000 Kincaid Park Training Center in Anchorage for costs associated with construction (Economic Development Initiative)
$525,000 Bering Straits Native Corporation in Nome for Cape Nome Quarry upgrade (Economic Development Initiative)
$590,000 Covenant House in Anchorage, Alaska for capital improvements needs (Economic Development Initiative)
$600,000 Alaska's Children's Trust Child Abuse Prevention Program (Discretionary Grants - Juvenile Justice Programs)
$600,000 Parents, Inc., Anchorage, for a mentoring and youth program (Fund for the Improvement of Education - Department of Education)
$600,000 Alaska Humanities Forum, Anchorage, to produce and deliver an Alaskan history curriculum, to train teachers throughout AK in its use (Fund for the Improvement of Education)
$600,000 United Way of Anchorage, for its 211 Project to develop an integrated system of resources for people with substance abuse, mental illness and homelessness (CMHS - SAMHSA)
$600,000 Kenai Peninsula JARC (Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants - Federal Transit Adminstration)
$600,000 City of Seldovia for water and sewer upgrades (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$602,000 Child support enforcement incentives (Discretionary Grants - Juvenile Justice Programs)
$688,000 Rural development (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Extension Activities)
$700,000 Elmendorf Air Force Base Community Center Enhancements (Operation and Maintenance - Air Force)
$739,000 Klondike Gold Rush NHP, build historical resource support center/protect museum collection (Construction - National Park Service)
$750,000 Alaska Mentoring Demonstration Project for a statewide at-risk youth mentoring program (Discretionary Grants - Juvenile Justice Programs)
$750,000 Alaska Community in Schools Mentoring Program (Safe Schools Initiative - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$750,000 Ketchikan Wood Tech. Center (Economic Action Program - Department of Agriculture)
$750,000 Alaska Native Aviation Program (Operation of Indian Programs - Bureau of Indian Affairs)
$750,000 Rural Alaska Fire Program (Operation of Indian Programs - Bureau of Indian Affairs)
$750,000 Alaska National Parks (Statutory or contractual aid - National Park Service)
$750,000 Alaska public lands database (Realty Ownership and Management - Bureau of Land Management)
$750,000 Tanana Chiefs Conf., in part. with Fairbanks Native Associ. and the Univ. of Alaska/Fairbanks, to treat behav. health problems of children throughout Interior Alaska (CMHS)
$750,000 City of Valdez to replace septic systems with sewers and wells with city water (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$750,000 Continued research and watershed activities at the Kenai River Center (Environmental Programs and Management - EPA)
$775,000 Chena River Lakes (Corp of Engineers: Operation and Maintenance)
$790,000 Bering Sea Fisherman's Association (Operation of Indian Programs - Bureau of Indian Affairs)
$800,000 City of Nome for water sewer upgrades for Old Federal Building (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$900,000 Marine Mineral Technology Center (Royalty and Offshore Minerals Management - Minerals Management Service)
$900,000 City of Ketchikan for costs associated with the construction of the Tongass Coast Aquarium (Economic Development Initiative)
$950,000 Kenai Fjords NP, multi-agency center (Construction - National Park Service)
$950,000 Municipality of Anchorage for costs associated with the construction of a recreational facility (Economic Development Initiative)
$1,000,000 Alaska Youth Courts (Discretionary Grants - Juvenile Justice Programs)
$1,000,000 Cook Inlet coastal monitoring and habitat (NOAA - National Ocean Service, Ocean Assessment Program)
$1,000,000 Alaska Near Shore Fisheries (NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, Fish)
$1,000,000 Winter food limitation [Prince William Sound Science Center] (NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles)
$1,000,000 Southwest Alaska Conservation (NOAA - National Ocean Service, Construction)
$1,000,000 Alaska Native Justice Center restorative justice programs (State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Discretionary Grant)
$1,000,000 Mobile computers for Wasilla police squad cars (Law Enforcement Technology - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$1,000,000 Land Mobile Radio site infrastructure equipment and portable radios for the Kenai Peninsula Borough (Law Enforcement Technology - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$1,000,000 Alaska Court System Information Network (Crime Identification Technology Act - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$1,000,000 Fort Richardson Biathlon Trail upgrade (Operation and Maintenance - Army)
$1,000,000 Restore woody island and historic structures (Operation and Maintenance - Army)
$1,000,000 Sitka (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$1,000,000 Yakutat (Corps of Engineers: General Investigations)
$1,000,000 Nome Harbor (Corp of Engineers: Operation and Maintenance)
$1,000,000 Tongass National Forest, pre-commercial thinning (National Forest System - Department of Agriculture)
$1,000,000 Chugach National Forest hazardous fuels treatments (Wildland Fire Management - Department of Agriculture)
$1,000,000 Denali Commission (Operation of Indian Programs - Bureau of Indian Affairs)
$1,000,000 Yukon River Delta NWR (Land Acquisition - Fish and Wildlife Service)
$1,000,000 Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping of AK NWRs (Resource Management - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
$1,000,000 Municipality of Anchorage for the Anchorage Soil and Water District Firewise Program, state and community fire assistance (Wildland Fire Management - Department of Agriculture)
$1,000,000 Chugach National Forest Russian River Interagency Visitor Center, to be contracted with Cook Inlet Regional Corporation (Capital Improvement and Maintenance - Department of Agriculture)
$1,000,000 Fairbanks North Star Borough (Wildland Fire Management - Department of Agriculture)
$1,000,000 Arctic Energy Office (Advanced research, Fossil Energy Research & Development - Department of Energy)
$1,000,000 Recordable disclaimer applications in Alaska (Realty Ownership and Management - Bureau of Land Management)
$1,000,000 Alaska Native Medical Center, Anchorage (Health Resources and Services Administration - Department of Health and Human Services)
$1,000,000 Bartlett Regional Hospital, Juneau (Health Resources and Services Administration - Department of Health and Human Services)
$1,000,000 State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Development to continue funding for its Right Start kindergarten project (Fund for the Improvement of Education)
$1,000,000 University of Alaska Statewide Office, Fairbanks, to continue to develop and implement its statewide health agenda (Public Health Improvement and Leadership - HHS)
$1,000,000 Unalaska Airport, air terminal expansion (Grants in Aid for Airports - Federal Aviation Administration)
$1,000,000 Continue dust and persistent particulate abatement research in Emmonak (Environmental, Planning, and Real Estate - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,000,000 Serpentine Hot Springs Road, Bering Land Bridge National Park (Federal Lands - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,000,000 Emmonak street lighting (National Corridor Planning and Border Development Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,000,000 Craig roads (National Corridor Planning and Border Development Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,000,000 Wasilla substandard road improvements (National Corridor Planning and Border Development Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,000,000 Juneau bus replacement (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$1,000,000 Kenai Airport, various improvements (Grants in Aid for Airports - Federal Aviation Administration)
$1,000,000 Nome Roads (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,000,000 Alaska RR luminescent grade crossings (Next Generation High-Speed Rail - Federal Railroad Administration)
$1,000,000 Alaska Mental Health Trust Bus Program (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$1,000,000 Kenai Peninsula Borough for housing upgrades (Economic Development Initiative)
$1,000,000 Girdwood Inc., for water and sewer expansion in Girdwood (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$1,000,000 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (Environmental Programs and Management - EPA)
$1,067,000 Seafood harvesting, processing and marketing (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Research and Education Activities - Special Research Grants)
$1,100,000 Alcohol interdiction for bootlegging crimes (State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Discretionary Grant)
$1,100,000 City of Wasilla for sewer expansion (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$1,108,000 Alternative salmon products (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Research and Education Activities - Special Research Grants)
$1,130,000 Sitka lab (Forest and Rangeland Research - Department of Agriculture)
$1,135,000 Wrangell-St. Elias NP & Pres, build museum - preserve/interpretive AHTNA cult. (Construction - National Park Service)
$1,150,000 Alaska Mineral Resource Assessment Program (Geologic Hazards, Resources & Processes - United States Geological Survey)
$1,200,000 NRI pilot development (Conservation Operations)
$1,200,000 Marine debris removal (NOAA - National Ocean Service, Response and Restoration)
$1,200,000 FMP extended jurisdiction (NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, Other Activities Supporting Fisheries)
$1,200,000 Juneau Airport, terminal enhancements (Grants in Aid for Airports - Federal Aviation Administration)
$1,250,000 University of Alaska/Fairbanks, working with the State of Alaska and Catholic Community Services, for the Alaska System for Early Education Development (SEED) (FIE)
$1,300,000 Marine mammal funding to continue protection work through cooperation efforts with various marine mammal commissions, and cont. surv. marine mammal stocks (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
$1,300,000 Soldotna Airport, runway safety area, draining improvements, tundra tire/ski runway, signing and visual guidance system (Grants in Aid for Airports - Federal Aviation Administration)
$1,300,000 Kodiak Island roads (National Corridor Planning and Border Development Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,300,000 Fairbanks International, various improvements (Grants in Aid for Airports - Federal Aviation Administration)
$1,300,000 Municipality of Anchorage for Sand Lake water extension (State and Tribal Assistance Grants - EPA)
$1,300,000 Denali Commission for economic development in remote native and rural villages (Neighborhood Initiatives Program)
$1,400,000 Ted Stevens International Airport, laser lines of tug roads and Lake Hood Seaplane Base (Grants in Aid for Airports - Federal Aviation Administration)
$1,400,000 Kenai Central Area Rural Transit System bus replacement (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$1,500,000 Cooperative agreement with the Soil and Water Conservation District (Conservation Operations)
$1,500,000 Alaska current and tide data (NOAA - National Ocean Service, Tides and Current Data)
$1,500,000 Matanuska Susitna Borough Emergency Response Radio Network (Law Enforcement Technology - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$1,500,000 Land Mobile Radio/Public Safety Communications for Anchorage (Law Enforcement Technology - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$1,500,000 NISA/Alaska (NOAA - Research, Other Partnership Programs)
$1,500,000 Alaska Wind Energy Project [Wind] (Renewable Energy Resources - Department of Energy)
$1,500,000 Togiak NWR (Land Acquisition - Fish and Wildlife Services)
$1,500,000 Wrangell-St. Elias NP (Land Acquisition & State Assistance - National Park Service)
$1,500,000 Log transfer facilities R10 (Capital Improvement and Maintenance - Department of Agriculture)
$1,500,000 Capping oil wells in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (Transportation and Facilities Maintenance - Bureau of Land Management)
$1,500,000 State of Alaska Department of Education and Early Development to meet standards of No Child Left Behind through teacher mentoring (Fund for the Improvement of Education - Department of Education)
$1,500,000 University of Alaska Arctic Transportation Engineering Research Center (Intelligent Transportation Systems - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,500,000 Louis Reef Road and Boswick Lake Road (Federal Lands - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,500,000 Knik Arm Intermodal Facility Terminal (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$1,500,000 Whittier Intermodal Facility (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$1,500,000 Kotzebue Road improvements (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,500,000 Akutan Road (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,500,000 Galena Road resurfacing (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,500,000 Anchorage paratransit and disability improvements (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$1,500,000 Anchorage Museum/Transit Intermodal Depot (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$1,500,000 Copper River Transit Program (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$1,600,000 Matanuska-Susitna Borough, state and community fire assistance (Wildland Fire Management - Department of Agriculture)
$1,600,000 Chugach National Forest & AK railroad backcountry whistle-stop (Capital Improvement and Maintenance - Department of Agriculture)
$1,750,000 State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Office of Children's Services to continue its Health Families Alaska home visitation program (Child Abuse)
$1,790,000 Berry research (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, Research and Education Activities - Special Research Grants)
$1,800,000 Eider and sea otter recovery at the Alaska SeaLife Center (Resource Management - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
$1,800,000 Juneau bridge repair and upgrade (Bridge Discretionary Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$1,900,000 Adak Airport, upgrade instrument approach lighting (Approach Lighting System Improvement Program [ALSIP] - Federal Aviation Administration)
$2,000,000 Alaska Child Advocacy Center for a child abuse investigation program (Discretionary Grants - Juvenile Justice Programs)
$2,000,000 Gulf of Alaska ecosystem monitoring (NOAA - National Ocean Service, Ocean Assessment Program)
$2,000,000 Alaskan Rural Prosecution Unit (State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance - Byrne Discretionary Grant)
$2,000,000 Training Village Public Safety Officer (Law Enforcement Technology - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$2,000,000 Combat erosion [Tribal Partnership] (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$2,000,000 Dillingham Emergency Bank (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$2,000,000 Anchorage Harbor (Corp of Engineers: Operation and Maintenance)
$2,000,000 Kake Land Exchange (Economic Action Program - Department of Agriculture)
$2,000,000 Fairbanks North Star Borough for relocation of the district's kitchen facilities (Impact Aid - Department of Education)
$2,000,000 Construction of Juneau access road (National Corridor Planning and Border Development Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$2,000,000 Construction of road from Kotzebue to Cape Blossom (National Corridor Planning and Border Development Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$2,000,000 Pt. Hope evacuation road (National Corridor Planning and Border Development Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$2,000,000 Construction of road, Shot Gun Cove (National Corridor Planning and Border Development Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$2,000,000 Skagway Bus Terminal development (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$2,000,000 Akutan Airport, various improvements (Grants in Aid for Airports - Federal Aviation Administration)
$2,000,000 Seward Highway recreational improvements (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$2,000,000 Ship Creek improvements (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$2,000,000 Walden Point Road [Metlakatla] (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$2,000,000 Alaska Native Medical Center Intermodal Bus/Parking Facility (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$2,100,000 Alaska Kenai Peninsula Borough, state and community fire assistance (Wildland Fire Management - Department of Agriculture)
$2,100,000 Kenai NWR, Visitor Center (water and sewer lines) (Construction - Fish and Wildlife Service)
$2,200,000 Fort Greeley Power Plant Feasibility Study (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Defense Wide)
$2,500,000 Gulf of Alaska (NOAA - National Ocean Service, Mapping and Charting)
$2,500,000 Land Mobile Radio migration for a multi-agency communication network (Law Enforcement Technology - Community Oriented Policing Services)
$2,500,000 Alaska Federal Health Care Network (Defense Health Program)
$2,500,000 Denali Commission, medical and dental equipment for rural clinics (Health Resources and Services Administration - Health and Human Services)
$2,500,000 Anchorage Ship Creek Intermodal Facility (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$2,500,000 Port of Anchorage Intermodal Facility (Bus & bus facilities - Federal Transit Administration)
$2,550,000 Alaska National Guard Counter-drug Program (Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities)
$3,000,000 Seward (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$3,000,000 Sand Point Harbor (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$3,000,000 Barrow Hospital, land acquisition and planning (Indian Health Facilities - Department of Health and Human Services)
$3,000,000 Neknek Bridge (Bridge Discretionary Program - Federal Highway Administration)
$3,000,000 Site prep. And constr. Management for the Pac. Alaska Regional Archives Facility in Anchorage (Repairs and Restoration - National Archives and Records Administration)
$3,000,000 University of Alaska for weather and ocean research (NASA)
$3,200,000 State of Alaska Seals and Stellar Sea Lion Program (NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles)
$3,200,000 Alaska Land Mobile Radio (Operation and Maintenance - Air Force)
$3,242,000 Base Volcano Monitoring Program in Shemya (Geologic Hazards, Resources & Processes - United States Geological Survey)
$3,400,000 Adak Airport operations improvement (Operation and Maintenance - Defense Wide)
$4,000,000 Arctic Energy Office (National Gas Exploration and Production, Fossil Energy Research & Development - Department of Energy)
$4,000,000 Alaska trail initiative (Federal Lands - Federal Highway Administration)
$4,000,000 Volcano monitoring (Air Traffic Control Facilities and Equipment - Federal Aviation Administration)
$4,283,000 Tongass Admir. NM/Juneau Road admin site (Capital Improvement and Maintenance - Department of Agriculture)
$4,300,000 Delta Mine Training Center (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Defense Wide)
$4,900,000 Wind/weather research, Juneau (Advanced Technology Development and Prototyping - Federal Aviation Administration)
$5,000,000 Galena IDEA Distance Learning Program
$5,000,000 Port of Anchorage Army Development Staging Area (Operation and Maintenance - Defense Wide)
$5,000,000 Wrangell (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$5,000,000 False Pass (Corps of Engineers: Construction)
$5,000,000 Tongass National Forest timber sales preparation (National Forest System - Department of Agriculture)
$5,000,000 Tongass National Forest (Capital Improvement and Maintenance - Department of Agriculture)
$5,000,000 Denali Commission, upgrade and construction of shelters for victims of domestic violence and child abuse (Health Resources and Services Administration - Health and Human Services)
$5,000,000 Kenai Peninsula Borough roads (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$5,100,000 11th Air Force Range power and fiber upgrades (Operation and Maintenance, Air Force)
$5,500,000 HAARP (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Air Force)
$5,800,000 Kodiak Range upgrades - KLC safety upgrades (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army)
$6,000,000 Barrow Arctic Research Center (NOAA - National Ocean Service, Fisheries)
$6,000,000 COPE THUNDER facilities renovation (Operation and Maintenance, Air Force)
$6,000,000 Morris Thompson Visitor & Cultural Center, completes (Construction - National Park Service)
$6,000,000 Matanuska Susitna Borough Pt. McKenzie road improvements (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$6,000,000 Homer-Halibut Cove - Jakolof Bay - Seldovia Ferry (Federal-Aid Highways - Federal Highway Administration)
$7,000,000 Alaska SeaLife Center Seals and Stellar Sea Lion Program (NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles)
$7,000,000 Denali Commission, job training (Employment and Training Administration - Department of Labor)
$7,000,000 Alaska statewide Rural Airfield Lighting Program, acquire and install airfield lighting (Approach Lighting System Improvement Program [ALSIP] - Federal Aviation Administration)
$7,375,000 Port of Anchorage Intermodal Marine Facility Project (Operation and Maintenance - Defense Wide)
$7,420,000 Denali NP, replace Eielson Visitor Center (Construction - National Park Service)
$7,650,000 DLA - Alaska Logistics Center (Operation and Maintenance, Defense Wide)
$8,500,000 Alaska Seals and Stellar Sea Lions (NOAA - National Marine Fisheries Service, Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles)
$8,500,000 Fort Wainwright utilidor repairs (Operation and Maintenance - Army)
$8,500,000 Eielson Air Force Base utilidor repairs (Operation and Maintenance - Air Force)
$9,300,000 Telecommunication upgrades at Kodiak Launch Complex (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army)
$9,500,000 Alaska conveyance (Realty Ownership and Management - Bureau of Land Management)
$10,000,000 Denali Commission, psychiatric treatment facility in Bethel, Alaska (Health Resources and Services Administration - Health and Human Services)
$10,000,000 Denali Commission, residential and supportive housing for elders (Health Resources and Services Administration - Health and Human Services)
$10,200,000 Joint Information Technology Project (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Defense Wide)
$10,200,000 Alaska Land Mobile Radio (Other Procurement, Air Force)
$11,000,000 USARAK Road Repairs (Operation and Maintenance - Army)
$13,800,000 Alaska Land Mobile Radio (Other Procurement, Army)
$14,000,000 Engineering and environmental assessment for Stryker Railroad extension (Operation and Maintenance, Air Force)
$22,000,000 Allen Army Airfield upgrades (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Defense Wide)
$25,000,000 Rehabilitation expenses of the Alaska Railroad (Alaska Railroad Rehabilitation - Federal Railroad Administration)
$26,000,000 Alaska villages (Rural Community Advancement Program)
$26,000,000 Large airframe maintenance hangar at Elmendorf Airforce Base (Air Force)

* (ADDENDA: Because this is a Full Service Comfort Stop on the information superhighway, for those keeping score at home, that comes to $645,502,000.00 of your tax dollars that have migrated to Alaska, never to return.)