"Everyone seems to agree that Congress needs to clean up earmarks, the special pork projects members of Congress secure often without hearings, notice or even disclosure of the direct recipient. Rep. John Boehner, the new House majority leader, laments that Congress has "become addicted to earmarks as if it were opium." President Bush belatedly told the nation in his State of the Union address that "the federal budget has too many special-interest projects."

Fine rhetoric, but if something drastic isn't done, earmarks will largely survive the calls for reform. Alaska's Sen. Ted Stevens, who has spent 37 years in Congress raiding the federal Treasury on behalf of his state, dismisses the notion that anything should threaten Alaska's status as the No. 1 state for pork. In 2005, it hauled in $984.85 worth of pork for every resident.

Last week Mr. Stevens went so far as to chide Capitol Hill reporters for even listening to earmark critics such as Sens. John McCain and Tom Coburn. "You guys fall for it and give them publicity," he said, and no one can doubt his authority. If anyone knows about publicity, it's the man who gave his name to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport."

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John Fund: Don Young's Way (The Wall Street Journal 2/7)