Members in Congress are up in arms about the doctoring of a Congressional earmark by Representative Don Young (R-Alaska).  The $10 million earmark included in a 2005 highway bill was slated for "widening and improvements" for I-75 in Collier and Lee counties in South Florida.  After Congress passed the bill, just before it was sent to the White House for signature, Young's staff "corrected" the earmark, altering the language to specify that the money would go to "Coconut Rd. Interchange/Lee County."

While the difference in wording may not sound like much, altering a bill after it has already been passed is akin to sneaking into your teacher's office to change the answers on your final exam.  You may have accidentally marked the wrong answer choice, but you've already lost the right to correct the mistake.

Even more disturbing is the fact that an Alaskan senator is dropping earmarks for Floridians and not for his home state.  Or is he?  The Washington Post reported today that:

"Young's critics suggest that the motive for the I-75 provision was campaign contributions from real estate developers who own 4,000 acres of land near the proposed interchange. In February 2005, developer Daniel Aronoff hosted Young and Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) at a highway safety event at Florida Gulf Coast University, followed by a fundraiser that brought in about $40,000 for Young's campaign."

The fundraiser-earmark connection might seem more coincidental than purposeful at first.  But after learning that the the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization, the recipient of the money, disapproved the highway project and has rejected the money for it three times in the past year, little doubt remains that the earmark was motivated by campaign dollars. 

The Senate seems to be poised to call in the Justice Department to launch a full-fledged investigation, and some Senators feel criminal charges might be filed against Senator Young.  Just another day on Capitol Hill.