$16,833,240 for eight projects by Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $3,937,600 for the Tongass Timber Supply Pipeline; $3,937,600 for the United States Geological Survey Volcano Observatory; $2,953,200 for the Alaska Conveyance Program; and $492,200 for the Craig Recreation land transfer.

LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION (LABOR/HHS) 

$93,416,000 for 35 projects by Senate appropriator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $33,907,000 for the Alaska Native Educational Equity Education Act; $6,875,000 for the Denali Commission for job training activities under the Denali Commission Act of 1998; $243,000 for the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage for a partnership with Koahnic Broadcasting for a Native Values project; $243,000 for a marine ecosystem education program at the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward; and $243,000 for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District to expand the PLATO learning program.

2007 

DEFENSE

$209,900,000 added for projects in the state of then-Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), an increase of 127 percent over the $92,425,000 for Alaska in the fiscal 2006 defense bill, including: $59,100,000 for upgrades to the Pacific Alaskan Range Complex in Red Flag; $4,000,000 for the Northern Line Extension, and $3,200,000 for HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program), which has received $109.1 million in pork since 1995. The Northern Line Extension will provide a direct route from North Pole (pop. 1,778 in 2005) to Delta Junction (pop. 840 in 2000), which is a whopping 82.1 mile drive on one highway between the two villages according to MapQuest. The Alaska Railroad Corporation said, “The proposed rail line would provide freight and potentially passenger rail services serving commercial interests and communities in or near the project corridor.” 

2006

AGRICULTURE

$33,360,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $25,000,000 for rural and native villages; $1,300,000 for berry research; $1,099,000 for alternative salmon products; $500,000 for fruit and berry crop trials for rural villages; $443,000 for new crop opportunities; $331,000 for food preparation and marketing research; $300,000 for commercialization of native plant materials; $250,000 for ethnobotany research; $166,000 for salmon quality standards; and $75,000 for seafood waste research.

DEFENSE

$92,425,000 for projects in the state of Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $17,000,000 for utility repairs ($8,500,00 at Fort Wainwright and $8,500,00 at Eielson Air Force Base); $15,100,000 for Allen Army Airfield upgrades; $12,800,000 for Alaska land mobile radios; $8,500,000 for the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Marine Facility Project; $3,400,000 for the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), which was initially designed to capture energy from the aurora borealis [northern lights], but is now being configured to heat up the ionosphere to improve military communications (CAGW has identified $105.9 million appropriated for HAARP since 1995); $2,000,000 for a track relocation study at Fort Wainwright; and $500,000 for the Arctic Winter Games.  According to the winter games website, “The Arctic Winter Games is a high profile circumpolar sport competition for northern and arctic athletes.  The Games provide an opportunity to strengthen sport development in the participants’ jurisdictions, to promote the benefits of sport, to build partnerships, and to promote culture and values.  The Games celebrate sport, social exchange and cultures.  The Games provide an opportunity for the developing athlete to compete in friendly competition while sharing cultural values from northern regions around the world.”

INTERIOR

$47,326,000 for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $12,733,000 for Western Arctic Parklands; $7,000,000 for Alaska conveyance; $4,000,000 for a visitors center at the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge; $1,100,000 for the Matunuska-Susitna Borough; $750,000 for the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park; $450,000 for the Bering Sea Fisherman’s Association; $400,000 for the Ketchikan Wood Technology Center; $150,000 for the Alaska Whaling Commission; and $98,000 for the Alaska Sea Otter Commission.

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION

$21,700,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska):  $5,900,000 for a mobility warehouse at Eielson Air Force Base; $5,600,000 for an information systems facility at Fort Wainwright; $5,500,000 for a rotary wing landing pad at Fort Wainwright; and $4,700,000 for a railhead port facility at Fort Richardson.

SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, AND COMMERCE (SSJC)

$42,650,000 for projects in the state of Senate SSJC Appropriations Subcommittee member Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $6,000,000 for the Barrow Arctic Research Center; $3,200,000 for the Alaska Fisheries Network; $2,000,000 for a community development program through NOAA; $200,000 for the Alaska Small Business Development Center; and $150,000 for the Wasilla Police Department for technology upgrades.  Wasilla had an estimated population of 7,700 in 2004.  In comparison, Baltimore City, Maryland received a $100,000 earmark for the same purpose and it has a population of more than 600,000.  In 2006, Alaska received $25 million in pork through NOAA.  According to syndicated columnist Robert Novak, Sen. Stevens complained to NOAA Administrator Conrad C. Lautenbacher that Alaska was being discriminated against in reference to the NOAA budget.  “It looked like someone had sort of a heavy pencil in Alaska,” Stevens said.  Apparently, not heavy enough.

2005

 AGRICULTURE

$37,402,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $26,000,000 (4.9 percent of the pork for the entire bill) for Alaska villages through the Rural Community Advancement Program; $1,790,000 for berry research; $1,108,000 for alternative salmon products; $358,000 for seed research; $284,000 for ethnobotany research; $167,000 for salmon quality standards; and $160,000 for seafood waste research in Fairbanks.

COMMERCE, JUSTICE, STATE, AND THE JUDICIARY

$60,977,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $18,700,000 for Alaska Seals and Stellar Sea Lions; $2,000,000 for training village public safety officers; $1,100,000 for alcohol interdiction for bootlegging crimes; $1,000,000 for mobile computers for Wasilla police cars; $265,000 for a training academy driver simulator; and $150,000 for the Aleut Marine Mammal Commission.

DEFENSE

$175,775,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $27,200,000 for Alaska Land Mobile Radio; $22,000,000 for Allen Army Airfield upgrades; $7,375,000 for the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Marine Facility Project; $5,500,000 for the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) (Initially designed to capture energy from the aurora borealis [northern lights], HAARP is now being configured to heat up the ionosphere to improve military communications. In 1997, University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute professor Syun-Ichi Akasofu stated that "To do what [has been talked] about, we would have to flatten the entire state of Alaska and put up millions of antennas, and even then, I am not sure it would work." Not surprisingly, HAARP is also heating up the ire of many taxpayers. Since 1995, CAGW has identified $100.9 million appropriated for HAARP); $3,400,000 for Adak airport operations improvement; and $1,000,000 to restore Woody Island and historic structures. According to Alaska’s Department of Commerce website, Woody Island has an official population of "0" and is only occupied on a seasonal basis.

Energy and Water 

$33,173,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska): $31,148,000 for 49 Army Corps of Engineers construction, and operation and maintenance projects for Alaska’s waterways (which represents 94 percent of the total Energy and Water Alaska pork); $1,500,000 for the Alaska Wind Energy Project; $325,000 for the Pacific Northwest Bi-National Regional Energy Planning Initiative; and $200,000 for the Alaska Wood Biomass Project in Ketchikan. The Sealaska Corporation oversees this wood-to-ethanol project, and built a $43 million facility to attempt to turn Alaska’s southeast old-growth (Tongass) timber and timber scraps into ethanol for use as a gasoline additive. The project has been in existence for many years and has yet to produce any significant results.

Interior 

$90,975,000, or 13.4 percent of the total pork dollars, for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $11,000,000 for sales preparation, maintenance, and pre-commercial thinning of the Tongass National Forest; $9,500,000 for Alaska conveyance (which has received $29,300,000 since fiscal 2000); $7,420,000 to replace the Eielson Visitor Center at Denali National Park; $3,242,000 for the Base Volcano Monitoring Program in Shemya; $900,000 for the Marine Mineral Technology Center; $790,000 for the Bering Sea Fisherman’s Association; $739,000 to build a historical resource support center to protect the museum collection at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park; $392,000 for Alaska legal services; $150,000 for the Alaska Whaling Commission; and $98,000 for the Alaska Sea Otter Commission.

LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION (LABOR/HHS) 

$66,335,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $34,500,000 for the Denali Commission ($10,000,000 for a psychiatric treatment facility in Bethel; $10,000,000 for residential and supportive housing for elders; $7,000,000 for job training; $5,000,000 to upgrade and construct shelters; and $2,500,000 for medical and dental equipment for rural clinics); $2,000,000 for the Fairbanks North Star Borough to relocate the district’s kitchen facilities; and $100,000 for the Southeast Island School District to develop two-way interactive video conferencing to provide special education services at nine isolated school sites.

TRANSPORTATION/TREASURY/GENERAL GOVERNMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES

$134,425,000 for projects in the state of Senate AppropriationsCommittee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $25,000,000 to rehabilitate the Alaska Railroad (this project has received $162,000,000 since fiscal 1996); $4,900,000 for wind/weather research in Juneau; $2,000,000 for recreational improvements to the Seward highway; $1,500,000 for a transit intermodal depot at the Anchorage Museum; $1,000,000 for Emmonak street lighting; and $250,000 for the University of Alaska for the 50th anniversary celebration of Alaska’s statehood.  According to a December 2004 Sun Star article, Sen. Stevens asked for $1.3 million for the January 2009 celebration, but he had to settle for one-fifth of his request — for now.

VETERANS AFFAIRS/HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT/INDEPENDENT AGENCIES(VA/HUD)  

$20,440,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $3,000,000 for the University of Alaska for weather and ocean research; $1,300,000 for the Denali Commission for economic development in remote native and rural villages; $900,000 for Ketchikan for costs associated with the construction of the Tongass Coast Aquarium; $525,000 for the Bering Straits Native Corporation in Nome for the Cape Nome Quarry upgrade; $500,000 for the Kincaid Park Training Center in Anchorage for costs associated with construction; $375,000 for regional haze monitoring; $350,000 for the Community Association of Hyder for costs associated with the construction of a high speed water plant; $150,000 for the Alaska Botanical Garden in Anchorage for expansions and renovations; and $150,000 for Friends of EagleRiver Nature Center, Inc. for costs associated with the construction of a community visitors center.

2004 

AGRICULTURE

$7,701,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $1,073,000 for seafood harvesting, processing, and marketing; $630,000 for rural development; $568,000 for alternative salmon products; $360,000 for seed research; $315,000 for food quality; $200,000 for staff positions in Palmer; $180,000 for seafood waste in collaboration between the Agriculture Research Service and the University of Alaska; $180,000 for berry research; and $135,000 for salmon quality standards. 

COMMERCE, JUSTICE, STATE, AND THE JUDICIARY

$45,097,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $8,500,000 for Phase I of the Barrow Arctic Research Center; $4,000,000 for the Kasitsna Bay Laboratory; $2,500,000 for the Land Mobile Radio Project; $2,500,000 for the Gulf of Alaska; $1,500,000 for Alaska current and tide data; $1,340,000 for Chinook salmon; $1,100,000 for an alcohol interdiction program designed to investigate and prosecute bootlegging; $1,000,000 for harbor seals; $500,000 for marine debris removal; $500,000 for the Prince William Sound Science Center; $497,000 for Upper Cook Inlet tidal research; $400,000 for the Harbor Seals Commission; and $250,000 for Partners for Downtown Progress.

DEFENSE

$129,200,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $33,300,000 for Fort Wainwright; $33,100,000 for Allen Army Airfield upgrades; $9,000,000 for Eielson Air Force Base utilidor repairs; and $5,000,000 for the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP).  Initially designed to capture energy from the aurora borealis (northern lights), HAARP is now being configured to heat up the ionosphere to improve military communications.  Not surprisingly, HAARP is also heating up the ire of many taxpayers.  Web surfers can check out www.haarp.alaska.edu to see how their tax dollars are being spent.  Since 1995, CAGW has identified $95.4 million appropriated for HAARP.

ENERGY AND WATER

$16,004,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $4,000,000 for the Dillingham Emergency Bank; $1,000,000 for Sand Point; $300,000 for the McGrath Bank Stabilization Project; $300,000 for a regional port study; $200,000 for the Knik Bridge Crossing; and $100,000 for Skagway.

INTERIOR

$64,306,000, or 18.8 percent of the total dollars, for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $9,500,000 for Alaska Conveyance; $5,000,000 for the Tongass National Forest; $2,250,000 for the Morris Thompson Visitor and Cultural Center; $1,500,000 for the Office of Arctic Studies; $1,000,000 for marine mammal population surveys; $800,000 for the Bering Sea Fisherman’s Association; $750,000 for the Ketchikan Wood Technology Center; $500,000 for the Kake Land Exchange; $250,000 for Coffman Cove; $200,000 for the Five-Fingers Lighthouse in Juneau; $150,000 for fish passage adjacent to railroads in Alaska; and $100,000 for the Alaska Sea Otter Commission.

LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION (LABOR/HHS/EDUCATION)

$30,400,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $4,000,000 for the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. for construction of health care facilities for native Alaskans in Anchorage; $150,000 for the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks for educational programs in support of the Summer Arts Festival; $100,000 for the Alaska Hospitality Alliance in Anchorage for a vocational training program; $50,000 for the Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association in Anchorage to digitize files, photos, and videos of Alaska history; and $50,000 for the Imaginarium Science Center in Anchorage to develop science exhibits and distance delivery modules.

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION

$34,064,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $15,800,000 for a joint security forces complex at Eielson Air Force Base; $3,100,000 for an Army National Guard vehicle maintenance shop in Juneau; $3,000,000 for Fort Wainwright ($1,500,000 for chapel expansion and $1,500,000 for a gymnasium); $1,400,000 to replace a working dog kennel at Elmendorf Air Force Base; and $1,000,000 for the Kulis Mobility Storage Warehouse addition.

TRANSPORTATION/TREASURY/GENERAL GOVERNMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES

$128,075,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including:  $25,000,000 for Alaska Railroad Rehabilitation; $6,000,000 for wind/weather research in Juneau; $5,000,000 for the Funny River Bridge Crossing (ha ha); $4,000,000 for volcano monitoring; $3,000,000 for the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Facility; $3,000,000 for North Slope Borough Road improvements; 2,500,000 for the Arctic Winter Games; $2,000,000 for Shotgun Cove Road; $1,000,000 for Ship Creek improvements; $1,000,000 for the Port of Ketchikan Ferry; $1,000,000 for Lucille Street and Mack Drive improvements in Wasilla; $950,000 for North Pole roads lighting; $500,000 for the Iditarod Historic National Trail Project; $500,000 for Southeast Alaska Seatrails; $500,000 for various improvements to the Ketchikan International Airport; and $450,000 for the Alaska statehood celebration. 

VETERANS AFFAIRS/HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT/INDEPENDENT AGENCIES (VA HUD) 

$23,458,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $3,000,000 for the University of Alaska for weather and ocean research; $2,000,000 for the Denali Commission; $1,000,000 for the Anchorage Museum for facilities expansion; $1,000,000 for the Tongass Coast Aquarium in Ketchikan for improvements; $1,000,000 for construction of a community center in Cordova; $750,000 for recreation facilities in the Kenai Peninsula Borough; $500,000 for the Kenai River Center; $250,000 for the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum for improvements; $200,000 for the city of North Pole for recreation improvements; $150,000 for the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation for a global logistics center; and $30,000 for Palmer for public facility improvements.

$10,586,000 for projects in the state of then-Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $1,200,000 for seafood harvesting, processing, and marketing; $700,000 for rural development; $631,000 for alternative salmon products; $450,000 for the Kenai Streambank restoration water project; $200,000 for seafood waste in Fairbanks; and $140,000 for salmon quality standards.

Favorites from past years: 

2001:  $176,000 for the Reindeer Herders Association.

2003:  $225,000 for the Begula Whale Committee