WASHINGTON - A massive spending bill awaiting action in the Senate includes nearly half a billion dollars for special projects in Washington and Oregon - including two that are among the most expensive items in the entire $373 billion measure.

Seattle-based Sound Transit would get $75 million for its light rail project, while Portland-based Tri-Met would get $77.5 million to extend light-rail service in that city.

Both projects are among the Top 10 items included in the so-called omnibus spending bill, according to an analysis by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a government watchdog group.

In all, Washington state would get $373.1 million and Oregon $125.7 million for projects ranging from transportation to museums to salmon recovery.

Washington's total places it ninth overall among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the group said, while Oregon ranks 31st.

With an expected haul of nearly $61 per person, Washington ranks 12th in per capita spending under the bill. Oregon would get about $35 per person, placing it exactly in the middle of the pack.

Washington long has been a top recipient of federal largesse dating back to the days of powerful Democratic senators such as Henry "Scoop" Jackson and Warren Magnuson. Oregon's total represents a drop-off from the recent past when former Senate Appropriations Chairman Mark Hatfield, a Republican, brought home millions to the state.

Not all the projects are wasteful pork, said Keith Ashdown, vice president of the taxpayers group, but many are questionable - especially at a time when the nation is approaching a $550 billion budget deficit.

Ashdown fretted about so-called earmarks, or line items that specify where government agencies must spend money. The omnibus bill, which combines seven appropriations bills to pay for most of the government's domestic programs, includes 7,931 earmarks at a cost of $10.7 billion, he said.

"With the federal treasury running on empty, this bill is a budgetary train wreck that will only deepen the nation's fiscal woes," Ashdown said.

The bill passed the House in early December but stalled in the Senate. A vote is expected as early as Tuesday.

Ashdown singled out Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., noting that Seattle's total of $131 million in earmarks is more than 22 states. Murray is a ranking Democrat on the Senate subcommittee responsible for transportation spending and has pushed hard for Sound Transit and other Washington state projects.

In truth, some of the money listed as going to Seattle is for regional projects such as salmon recovery - a point Ashdown acknowledged under questioning. Seattle is listed because many federal agencies have regional offices there.

Murray said in a statement Friday that she is proud of her work on the spending bill, which she called an important step to help revive the state's economy. "By passing the omnibus bill we will fund our federal responsibilities to infrastructure, health care, job training and education," she said.

Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., who is seeking to oppose Murray this fall, voted in favor of the bill last month. Nethercutt is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, as is Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash.

Big-ticket items in the bill for Washington state include $18.3 million for repair of the federal building in Auburn; $9.8 million for a new border station in Blaine; and $11.3 million for improvements at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Spokane International Airport would get $8 million for a new air traffic control system.

Major Oregon items include $4 million for a bus station in Springfield; $1.5 million for the Oregon Trawl Commission; and $1 million for a space education program at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland.

---

On the Net:

Taxpayers for Common Sense: www.taxpayer.net