MU ranks 36th in nation in receiving earmarks

MU recieves more earmarks than most schools in the nation.

By Gregory Zajac

Published May 7, 2010

MU received $11.5 million in federal earmarks and shared another $3.8 million with seven other colleges in 2010, according to a new database of earmarks.

The database, produced by news website Inside Higher Ed, lists colleges by the total number of earmarked dollars they received in last year's congressional appropriations bills. MU received the 36th largest amount of earmarks among universities in the country.

Some see the earmarks as a form of government waste, especially in light of the economic downturn.

"Whenever money is tight, earmarking seems to get a closer look," Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman said.

Earmarking in higher education is particularly controversial, because it bypasses the process in which universities compete for federal and corporate grants for research, Lederman said. Some see earmarks as a way to secure funding for less recognized research institutions that would have a hard time competing for those grants.

"The earmarking process is seen as a way to work around that peer review process," Lederman said. The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, an Iowa-based food research group with an office at MU and several campuses nationally, received a $1.3 million earmark. FAPRI co-director Patrick Westhoff said the center puts together an analysis of agricultural markets and policies for Congress every year.

"We're probably different from a lot of other projects that are funded this way because we work directly for Congress," Westhoff said.

The size of the earmarked funds vary from year to year, but generally makes up less than one-third of FAPRI's total budget, said Westhoff, an associate professor of agriculture economics.

Because many institutions use FAPRI's research, the institute receives additional funding from universities, other federal agencies and foreign governments. Westhoff said the earmark is used to make its baseline projections. He also said the center could not receive its other funding without the federal money.

"If we didn't have the earmarked funds, we wouldn't have any other way of paying for those projections that serve as the basis for a lot of our other work," Westhoff said.

The UM system's office of governmental relations lobbies for earmarks on behalf of the UM system. UM system spokeswoman Jennifer Hollingshead said earmarks only account for part of the system's funding, and the office pursues competitive grants and gifts from donors to support its teaching and research mission.

"Federal earmarks provide a very small percentage of our overall university funding and typically directly support a broad spectrum of faculty research or help fund facilities and equipment required for faculty who are actively engaged in research," Hollingshead said.

MU received 13 earmarks, according to the database. Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., sponsored eight of MU's earmarks, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., sponsored six and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., sponsored one.

Bond supports responsible congressional earmarking and pushes for greater transparency in the earmarking process, Deputy Press Secretary Bret Funk said. Bond lists on his website the cost and purpose of all earmarks he secures.

"Some politicians may trust only bureaucrats to do all the earmarking," Bond stated on his website. "They may not trust themselves or local citizens to set priorities, but I sure do."

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., does not request earmarks and has supported banning them, Deputy Press Secretary Laura Myron said. In an email, McCaskill said earmarks should be more carefully scrutinized, given the economic downturn.

"Many of the projects funded by earmarks are valuable, worthwhile endeavors," McCaskill said in an e-mail. "However, with the deficits our country is currently facing, who gets funded should be based on merit through a competitive process or through a fair transparent formula to fund local priorities, not based on political power, secret deals or who hires the best lobbyist."