   
Convention connections
By AARON SADLER
Stephens Washington Bureau
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 WASHINGTON All the talk in Washington about earmark reform won't stop Arkansas lawmakers from seeking federal funds for state and local projects this year.
President Bush called on Congress to cut in half the number of earmarks loaded into appropriations bills. Others have sought an end altogether to what they see as wasteful spending.
Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, said Friday he favors a moratorium on earmarks to buy time for a reform effort, but that doesn't mean he will turn away requests from communities and groups in the state's 3rd District.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said she, too, will continue to entertain requests from Arkansas residents.
"The projects that I fight for are not things that I dream up," she said. "Those are projects brought to me by Arkansans universities, communities, nonprofit agencies."
Lincoln said it is fair to criticize obvious wasteful earmarks like the $200 million "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska. But she praised improvements instituted last year that increase transparency, like having lawmakers attach their names to the earmarks in legislation.
Boozman joined House Republicans in seeking a moratorium and calling for a commission to examine the earmark process.
But in the meantime, he said he would write letters to federal agencies asking them to spend money on the local projects he favors.
Agencies directed money for local projects based on written congressional requests last year after Congress failed to pass annual appropriations bills, Boozman said.
But federal employees have no business deciding how to spend money for Arkansans, said Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott.
"Earmarks are how we have funded interstates like I-49 and I-69 and I think I have a better idea of the needs of my district than the bureaucrats in Washington," Ross said.
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