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Photo by Eric Engman

FAIRBANKS -- Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives Sean Parnell has come under fire from his opponents in recent days for appearing to flip flop on the use of congressional earmarks to fund Alaska projects.

Parnell, who has previously voiced support for a one-year moratorium on attaching earmarks to federal budget legislation, said in recent candidate debates in Anchorage and Fairbanks that he does support the use of earmarks in certain circumstances.

"I'm not anti-earmark," he said. "I'm against abusing the process to get my earmark."

Parnell spoke at length about his position on earmarks in an interview last week at his Anchorage campaign headquarters. The Republican lieutenant governor said he's been consistent in saying it's the earmarking process that needs to be cleaned up.

"I would be open to using earmarks and I think I've always been clear on that," Parnell said. "I would use earmarks but I do think the process needs to be cleaned up."

An earmark is Washington lingo for the spending directions members of Congress insert in appropriation bills to fund specific projects. Earmarks have become highly controversial this election cycle, thanks in no small part to opposition to the process by presidential candidates Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Barack Obama, D-Ill.

"We're in a new world where earmarks are not trusted because they breed corruption and they breed lack of accountability," Parnell said.

Earmarks make up only a small portion of the federal money Alaska receives, but the inherent secrecy of the process, critics complain, make it ripe for abuse. Earmarks make up just 1 percent of the total federal budget.

Parnell says he would reduce the number of earmarks for Alaska projects in favor of funding them through other revenue sources, including using more state monies. He also said he's not afraid to cut earmarks headed for other states.

"It's a new world where we cannot wholly rely on the federal government," Parnell said. "Alaska is 50 years old; we've got a surplus. It's time for us to step up and use some of that and use federal funds and look for other sources like nonprofits to come in and help."

Parnell has used the earmark issue the clobber incumbent Don Young in the run-up to the GOP primary on Aug. 26. Young has consistently defended his use of earmarks as exercising his prerogative as an elected representative to fund worthy projects and programs in Alaska.

The rest of the House field – Republican Gabrielle LeDoux and Democrats Diane Benson and Ethan Berkowitz – have said the use of earmarks is appropriate if fully vetted and done in a public manner. They have not, however, made earmarking the central issue of their campaigns as Parnell has.

While Parnell says some discretionary spending may be necessary, he thinks the current process of inserting language in the annual appropriation bills to direct money to specific projects is flawed and rife with misuse.

"I am opposed to abusing the process by placing earmarks without public scrutiny and embarrassing Alaskans in the process," he said. "If a congressman says his community needs a particular project there should be … an up-or-down vote on the request."

Both the House and Senate introduced reforms this year, including requiring lawmakers to put their names on requests and certifying that they don't stand to benefit personally from an appropriation. Critics maintain the measures don't go far enough, though.

"If somebody is going to ask me to place an earmark then they ought to be able to provide me with a backup that's publicly available," Parnell said. "It's part about being accountable for what you're doing."

Parnell's anti-earmark position has earned him the support of the conservative anti-spending group Club for Growth, which has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations and other assistance to Parnell.

The Young campaign says Parnell has shifted his position on earmarks.

"If I was Club for Growth I would be confused," said Mike Anderson, Young's campaign spokesman and chief of staff.

A spokeswoman for the special interest group said Parnell's position represents a change for the better, even if it's not completely in step with their policy.

"Obviously the Club for Growth is not in favor of any earmarks," said Nachama Soloveichik, spokeswoman for the nonprofit group. "But (Parnell) is head and shoulders better than Don Young on this issue."

"Ideally we would get rid of earmarks all together, but we think all reforms on this issue are positive," she said.

Club for Growth does not think Parnell has changed his position on earmarks.

Club for Growth has not shied away from criticizing Young for his use of earmarks to send millions of dollars to Alaska.

The group supports what it calls "pro-growth" candidates and has bundled $165,000 in donations from its members to Parnell in the second quarter of this year.

The group's political action committee, which is not allowed to coordinate its activities with the Parnell campaign, has also spent big on advertisements targeting Young and his use of earmarks.

Club for Growth spent $350,000 on television advertisements that began airing statewide Wednesday attacking Young for a controversial $10 million earmark in the 2005 federal transportation bill for a Florida road project. The group previously paid $100,000 for TV ads attacking Young.

Anderson said that support comes with strings that will limit Parnell's effectiveness if elected.

"The lieutenant governor is going to have to decide who his master is," Anderson said. "Anyone who gets in bed with the devil is going to have to think about what he's doing. He has to ask himself which comes first -– Alaska or his allegiance to Club for Growth."