Tech Talk: Track Congressional spending via Google Earth

Publication: Belton (Texas) Journal

Jonathan Blundell
November 23, 2007

As the Internet continues to grow, so does the open sharing of information.

Google’s hottest desktop application, Google Earth, continues to lead the way in the visual sharing and mapping of that information.

Not only does Google Earth give you an amazing bird’s eye view of your neighborhood and landmarks like the Grand Canyon, but by allowing content creators to create their own map layers, known as Keyhole Markup Language (KML) files, Google Earth is helping expand understanding on a variety of social issues as well.

From world energy consumption, the crisis in Darfur and maps of the recent San Diego wildfires, Google Earth is helping people see their world in fascinating new ways.

And with recent reforms in the way Congressional earmarks are reported, a new KML file has been developed and released by The Sunlight Foundation, allowing citizens to see exactly where nearly 1,500 proposed earmarks in the 2008 House Defense Appropriations bill are going.

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 defined an earmark with the euphemism, “congressionally directed spending.”

“Navigating earmarks on Google Earth is much more compelling and user-friendly than reviewing a list of earmarks or a spreadsheet,” Ellen Miller, executive director of the Sunlight Foundation, said. “Americans who are concerned about government spending and the upsurge in member use of earmarks now have a simple way to visualize and investigate how Congress is awarding defense-related federal funds.”

After activating the KML file in Google Earth, users will see yellow push-pins located where Congress members have proposed spending your tax dollars. A quick scan of the map shows how much impact the 2008 House Defense Appropriations bill could have on nearly every state.

Users can zoom in on the locations where earmark recipients are located and then click the icons for additional information on EarmarkWatch.org.

“This graphic illustration of defense earmarks gives anyone with an Internet connection a bird’s eye view of exactly where Congress is directing federal spending,” Gabriela Schneider, communication director for The Sunlight Foundation said. “And (they have) the ability to investigate whether the earmarks address pressing needs, favor political contributors or are simply pure pork.”

According to EarmarkWatch.org, the top defense sponsors in the 2008 defense bill are Rep. John Murtha, D-PA, with $166.5 million in earmarks, Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-CA, with $112 million in earmarks and Rep. Jack Kingston, R-GA, with $72.187 million in earmarks.

Texas is currently set to receive 63 different defense earmarks, totaling $141.2 million.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, has sponsored $5 million in earmarks for two companies in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, sponsored nine different earmarks, for a total of $21.5 million for the Central Texas area and Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, sponsored four different earmarks, for a total of $9 million.

While some Congressional leaders may not be as proud of their earmark record as others, Barton said he welcomes more openness about the process.

“Congressman Barton is a strong proponent of openness in the earmark process,” Barton’s Press Secretary Karen Modlin said, “In June, he spoke on the House floor about this issue, and expressed his concerns about a lack of openness and transparency in the earmark process. That day, he started a precedent of putting his funding requests in the record. He also puts all requests on his website.”

By joining the information from EarmarkWatch.org and Google Earth, users can now easily search for earmarks by, neighborhood, zip code, city, state, sponsor and even recipient.

Schneider added that the KML file is part of the foundation’s continued work with EarmarkWatch.org and Taxpayers for Common Sense.

“With the Google Earth layer and EarmarkWatch.org the data is there for people to search and add their own information on each earmark and add to the collective information on the site,” Schneider said.

This is the second Google “mash-up” developed by The Sunlight Foundation. The first mash-up utilized Google maps and showed the location of 1,753 earmarks, totaling $500 million, for Heath and human services as well as Housing and urban development.

The Sunlight Foundation was formed in January 2006 with the goal of “using the Internet and new information technology to enable citizens to learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing, and thus help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and accountability by government, and foster public trust in the vital institutions of democracy.”