Where Most Needed

The web site Inside Higher Ed reports that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) wants to know how much money 111 institutions of higher education have received from Federal legislative earmarks since 2000, and whether they paid lobbyists to get them.  Earmarks are clauses in spending bills in Congress that specify recipients and projects for appropriations. 

Sen. Coburn has been vocal in criticism of earmarking, not only because the flow of money distorts the legislative process, but also because it involves Congress in micromanagement of the government.  Already there have been instances where the entire appropriation of a program has been designated by legislative earmarks.  The peer review process for grants is being replaced by competition for legislative access.

Lobbying certainly goes on at universities and colleges, sometimes under a different name to evade legislative prohibitions.  The Birmingham News ran a feature a few Sundays ago by Kim Chandler and Brett Blackledge uncovering the widespread practice of lobbying by another name in Alabama's community college system (Lobbyists retained despite ban.)

Coincidently, a couple of days ago the Christian Science Monitor  (Gail Russell Chaddock) reported on the current close relationship between earmarking and high-profile Washington lobbying (Pssst. K Street delivers the goods - for a price.)

Here's the list from Inside Higher Ed of the Universities that received Sen. Coburn's letter:
University
Auburn University
Aurora University
Baylor College of Medicine
California Institute of Technology
Columbia University   
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Delta State University
Drexel University
Duke University
Education and Research Consortium of Western North Carolina
Emory University
Florida International University
Florida State University
George Mason University
Georgia Institute of Technology, All Campuses
Harvard University
Indiana University, All Campuses
Iowa State University
Johns Hopkins University
Loma Linda University
Louisiana state university at Baton Rouge
Marshall University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Medical University of South Carolina
Mercer University
Michigan State University
Mississippi State University
Montana State University at Bozeman
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces
New York University
North Carolina State University
North Dakota State University
Northwestern University
Ohio State University at Columbus
Oklahoma State University at Stillwater
Pennsylvania State University at University Park
Purdue University at West Lafayette
St. Petersburg College
Stanford University
State University of New York at Buffalo
Stevens Institute of Technology
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas A&M University at College Station
Texas Tech University
University North Carolina Chapel Hill
University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Alabama at Huntsville
University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
University of Alaska at Fairbanks
University of Arizona
University of California at Berkeley
University of California at Davis
University of California at Los Angeles
University of California at Riverside
University of California at San Diego
University of California at San Francisco
University of Columbia, All Campuses
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Hawaii-manoa
University of Idaho
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois, Chicago
University of Iowa
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
University of Maine at Orono
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
University of Michigan, All Campuses
University of Minnesota
University of Misouri at Rolla
University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi Medical Center
University of Missouri at Columbia
University of Montana at Missoula
University of Nebraska at Lincoln
University of Nevada at Las Vegas
University of Nevada at Reno
University of Nevada Central Administration
University of New Hampshire at Durham
University of New Mexico at Albuquerque
University of New Orleans
University of North Dakota
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh-Main campus
University of Rhode Island
University of Rochester
University of South Alabama
University of South Florida
University of Southern California
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Texas
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
University of Texas, Austin
University of Utah
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin Madison
Vanderbilt University
Washington State University
Washington University of St. Louis
West Virginia University at Morgantown
Wheeling Jesuit University
Yale University