Alaska Rep. Earmarks Cash for Florida

Young channels funds to road project dear to campaign contributor
By Max Brallier,  Newser User
Posted Jun 7, 2007 8:00 AM CDT
Alaska Rep. Earmarks Cash for Florida
Rep. Don Young.   (KRT Photos)

The New York Times blows the whistle on Don Young, the House's most notorious earmarker, who this time managed to slip in $10 million for a boondoggle that's not even in his home state of Alaska. A 2006 transportation bill mysteriously includes funds for a project in Florida that happens to be close to the heart of a Young campaign  contributor.

The Coconut Road project would connect that road to the nearby Interstate, multiplying the value of land owned by a developer who has given Young over $40,000. The local congressman said he had nothing to do with it, and twice a Florida planning group has voted against the plan on environmental objections. Young fought back with a threat that failure to complete the highway project could jeopardize future funding. (More Florida stories.)

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