Billions in stimulus funds sought for Washington's needs

The $800 billion federal stimulus package being drafted in Congress is supposed to be pork-free. But that hasn't stopped Washington state's delegation from trying to steer billions of dollars toward this region.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, and other members of the delegation are trying to work around the ban on earmarks by creating large pots of money with a narrow purpose that could benefit the state.

The Senate bill contains $5.5 billion for nuclear-waste cleanup at former defense sites such as the Hanford nuclear reservation, $5.5 billion in competitive grants for large transportation projects, $3.2 billion in loans for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and $60 million to help ferry systems.

The House version contains the same amount of money for the BPA, plus $1.5 billion for national parks.

If the money survives, it could build power lines to wind farms in remote areas in the Northwest, renovate ferry terminals, help pay for mega projects such as replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, speed cleanup at Hanford and help pay for a backlog of work at national parks such as Mount Rainier.

The Washington state delegation isn't alone in trying to secure money for back home.

Congress has never had so much money to spend in such a short amount of time, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.

"It's just irresistible," he said. "Congress says, 'This is a freight train.' They have to jump on because there might not be another for years."

Gov. Chris Gregoire, who just came back from a meeting with the delegation in D.C., said the state is well-positioned politically to secure money. "We're in a whole lot better shape than most," she said.

Murray is part of the inner leadership circle in the U.S. Senate. She's also chairwoman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee on Appropriations.

Dicks is third in seniority on the House Appropriations Committee and chairs the subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

Murray isn't shy about her role in the Senate stimulus package. "There wouldn't be ferries in it if I wasn't sitting here. BPA wouldn't be in it. In fact, the $5.5 billion (for transportation) wouldn't be there," she said.

Dicks' office said the congressman was responsible for putting money in the House bill for national parks. Also, the entire House delegation worked to get the BPA money in the bill.

Although none of the money in the bills is specifically earmarked for projects in this state, Washington would likely get significant chunks of the funding.

Here's how it could work:

• $5.5 billion in competitive grants for transportation. The money is aimed at large transportation projects, up to a maximum of $500 million per project. The state has several projects that could vie for that money, including multibillion dollar plans to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the Highway 520 bridge. The federal money could be used to complete parts of those larger projects.

Although Washington would compete against other states to get the money from the U.S. Department of Transportation, lobbyists said to keep in mind that fact that Murray chairs the transportation subcommittee. Government agencies pay attention to that sort of thing.

• $5.5 billion for nuclear-waste cleanup at former defense sites. Hanford usually gets about 30 percent of that funding, which would amount to around $1.6 billion. However, the House version of the stimulus package contains a much smaller pot of money for cleanup efforts.

• $3.2 billion in loans for the BPA. This money is now in both the Senate and the House versions. Murray and other lawmakers said the money is aimed at helping connect wind farms, often in remote areas, to the power grid. The provision would more than double the amount of money available to the BPA for such projects. "We do not have the infrastructure to maximize wind energy," Gregoire said. "We've got to get it in place."

• $1.5 billion for national parks. Dicks worked to get the money in the House version of the bill. "We have a unique circumstance of three large, heavily attended national parks that in two recent years have had severe storm damage," said George Behan, Dicks' spokesman. "We still have residual trail maintenance and facility needs out there that date back to the storm. We'll get some help there."

• $60 million for ferries. Washington runs the largest ferry system in the country and hopes to get a large chunk of the money to help renovate terminals. "I think we could get between a third and half of it," said David Moseley, ferry-system director.

Sabato said Democrats are only doing what any party in control would try to do.

"The more you look at the bill, you realize you have the stimulus half and the Democratic wish-list half," he said. "They're really accomplishing their agenda with this giant bill. This is a vehicle for all the programs they've wanted for a long time."

It's not clear if Washington state's delegation will succeed in getting its provisions in the final package.

"This is under challenge," said Behan. "There's a group over there (in the Senate) that thinks we have to trim pieces of this and put more tax cuts on. And I'm not just talking about Republicans. There are some conservative Democrats."

Andrew Garber: 360-236-8268 or agarber@seattletimes.com