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WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens says he will begin later this week to post all of the earmark requests his office has received from local communities and the state.

The move comes in response to calls from some national Republicans for greater transparency in the federal budget process and, specifically, criticism from Gov. Sarah Palin of the congressional delegation’s use of earmarks to send millions of dollars home annually.

“There is some allegation that Senator Stevens pulls these requests out of thin air during the appropriation process,” said Aaron Saunders, spokesman for Stevens. “By posting these on our Web site, we’ll be able to demonstrate to Alaskans exactly where these requests come from.”

Stevens plans to post all of the earmark requests he’s received from state and municipal governments and private organizations for fiscal year 2009, Saunders said. The deadline for submitting earmark requests was Feb. 15.

The delegation is concerned that there’s a disconnect between what the governor says in public and the funding requests that have been submitted by her administration, an Alaska congressional aide said on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the issue.

The state has requested 31 earmarks in fiscal year 2009. Of those, 22 represent continuing appropriations from previous years, four have been funded intermittently in the past and only five requests are new.

The state’s funding requests are in line with the governor’s call in December to reduce the number of earmarks to no more than 10 or 12, excluding ongoing appropriations and earmarks for the Alaska National Guard, said John Katz, the governor’s Washington spokesman.

“We have reduced the total number of earmark requests from 54 last year to 31,” Katz said. “The total amount of money requested has gone down from $550 million to less than $200 million.”

Katz met with Stevens on Monday morning to assure the senator that the state supported efforts to shine more light on the earmark process and that the governor was not trying to pick a fight with the delegation.

“I don’t see any problem with Sen. Stevens posting the state’s earmark requests,” Katz said. “We believe they all pass muster in terms of the criteria set forth by the congressional delegation and the Bush administration.

“In each instance, there’s a strong federal nexus, citizen support and reliance on an open and transparent process,” Katz said. “In addition, we’ve included state matching funds wherever possible.”

In an interview here on Saturday, Palin said the state’s congressional delegation needed to change with the times and significantly curb their use of congressional earmarks.

“We can either put our heads in the sand and ignore the reforms that are coming or we can be proactive and get Alaska in a position to be more productive, contributing more and become less reliant on the federal government,” Palin said.

The comments hit a nerve with Alaska’s senior senator, who is renown for his ability to direct federal dollars back to the state through the earmark process.

Stevens, also a Republican, ranked second in the Senate in the number of earmarks he salted into spending bills in 2007. According to the nonprofit budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, Stevens snagged $389 million in earmarks for projects back home.

Critics of earmarks say the process is rife for abuse by powerful lawmakers who can direct federal spending to pet projects with little or no oversight.

Stevens has repeatedly defended the use of earmarks, though, arguing that they give Congress more say over how federal dollars are spent.

“The important thing to consider is that each of these requests come from a borough, city, community or local organization,” Saunders said.

Stevens supports efforts to make the budget process more transparent and has agreed to adhere to new rules adopted in the Senate requiring both the sponsor and beneficiary to be listed on each earmark, Saunders said.

“The appropriation process is not done in a smoke-filled room in the dead of night,” Saunders said. “There’s a process and these bills are vetted over several months.”

Katz said the governor is not against the use of earmarks as long as they meet certain standards.

“She understands Congress’ responsibility to appropriate funds, and earmarking is part of that responsibility,” Katz said.

Stevens has repeatedly warned the state that earmarking is on the decline and that important infrastructure projects will require greater share from the state in the future.

“Stevens has gone before the Legislature for years telling them that federal support is going to slow down and that there has to be more support from the state,” Saunders said. “It’s clear that the state is finally getting the message.”

President Bush warned Congress last month that he would veto appropriation bills that exceed his $988 billion budget request for non-military spending for fiscal year 2009 and for cutting the number of earmarks in half.

He also issued an order to federal agencies directing them to ignore earmarks in the reports that accompany spending bills, which are not legally binding. Instead, to be funded an earmark would have to be included in the language of the appropriation bill, which requires a vote by the full committee.

On Tuesday, South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint said he plans to offer an amendment in the upcoming Senate budget resolution that would establish a yearlong moratorium on earmarks.