Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., has never been shy about bragging about the federal monies he brings home for his constituents. "Pork goes to Minnesota," the senator likes to tell people who question his budget earmarks. "Infrastructure comes to Montana."
A new radio commercial by Burns' re-election campaign claims that the senator has brought more than $2 billion in federal funds to the state since he first took office in 1989 -- with 20 percent of that coming to the Bozeman area alone.
Burns "secured well over $400 million for Bozeman-area families for conservation and biomedical research money used to attract high-paying jobs," the announcer says in the ad.
A breakdown of those earmarks provided by the senator's campaign show that while most were directed to Gallatin County, and Montana State University in particular, the term "Bozeman area" is defined somewhat broadly.
Among the 275 earmarks are several appropriations for Yellowstone National Park, including $2.6 million for a new courthouse in Mammoth Hot Springs, $11 million for restoration of the Old Faithful Inn and millions for bison management and brucellosis.
Earmarks for neighboring counties also were included, such as $300,000 for the Livingston Depot in Park County and $1 million for a cold-water fish hatchery in Madison County. Also counted was $3 million for a land conservation project in Sweet Grass County.
But those are the exceptions rather than the rule, with most of earmarks listed coming to Gallatin County.
The biggest recipient of earmarks through the years appears to MSU -- its optical memories materials program has received more than $14 million alone.
It's not surprising, perhaps, that the Chronicle of Higher Education named MSU the 15th largest recipient of academic pork in 2003.
Pork-barrel spending is usually defined as federal monies that are awarded based on a politician's clout or connections rather than the worthiness of a project.
Montana received $164 in pork for every man, woman and child living in the state in 2005, according to the non-partisan Citizens Against Government Waste. The national average that same year was $33 per person.
The state per capita figure also includes earmarks from Montana's other two congressmen.
Pork makes up a relatively small part of the federal budget, but it has grown considerably in recent years, from $3.1 billion in 1991 to $23.7 billion in 2005, according to CAGW.
Burns and his staff defend the earmarks, saying they stimulate the area's economy. One local recipient, Bozeman's TechRanch, has helped build 15 successful start-up companies, according to its Web site.
"The effect of those job-creating federal dollars can be felt throughout the Bozeman and Montana economy," Burns spokesman Jason Klindt said.
Still, at what cost, Montana Democratic Party spokesman Matt McKenna responded.
He pointed to news reports suggesting former Burns staffers profited as lobbyists after using professional connections they made through the senator's office, and to recent comments made by Jack Abramoff that he got "every appropriation we wanted" from Burns' committee. "He's made Montana the butt of a national joke," he said.