Ted Stevens
From Corruptapedia
| Ted Stevens | |
 | |
| Assumed Office December 24, 1968 | |
| State | Alaska |
| Party | Republican |
| Preceded By | Bob Bartlett |
| Succeeded By | Incumbent (2008) |
| Born | November 18, 1923 Indianapolis, Indiana |
Ted Stevens is the senior Senator from the state of Alaska. After serving at varying levels of state government in both elected and appointed positions, he was first appointed to the United States Senate on December 24, 1968 to fill a vacancy following the death of Senator E.L. Bartlett. He won a special election to retain the seat on November 3, 1970 and would go on to win the seat in general elections held in 1972, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002.
During his Senate career, he has served as the Republican whip (1977-1985), President pro tempore (2003-2007) and on numerous committees.
Committee Assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science
- Subcommittee on Defense (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Homeland Security
- Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Vice Chairman)
- Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
- Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation
- Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism
- Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Sciences
- Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
- Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety
- Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
- Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security
- Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
- Subcommittee on Investigations
- Committee on Rules and Administration
- Joint Committee on the Library of Congress
Contents |
[edit] Pork Barrel Spending
[edit] $3.2 Billion
Between 2000 and 2006 the state of Alaska has ranked first in pork barrel spending each year, with a staggering $3,214,429,028 going to the state through appropriations added to bills by Senator Stevens. With a state population of 626,932 according to the 2000 census and estimated to be 670,053 as of 2006, that equals out to the equivalent of $5,007.66 per individual living in the state of Alaska over that same period. [1]
[edit] Bridge to Nowhere
In 2005 Senator Stevens inserted a plan into a highway bill that would see $223 million spent on a bridge in the state of Alaska to link a town of Ketchikan (population 8,900) to Gravina Island (population 50) as well as a $230 million down payment for a second, billion-dollar bridge to be named for Representative Don Young, which would link the mainland portion of Anchorage with a near-deserted port. [2]
When Senator Tom Coburn offered an amendment to transfer this funding to reconstruction efforts on bridges in the New Orleans area destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, Senator Stevens had this to say:
- "I will put the Senate on notice -- and I don't kid people -- if the Senate decides to discriminate against our state and take money only from our state, I will resign from this body. [3]
Despite the project grinding to a halt and being stripped of funding by lawmakers in November of 2005, Senator Stevens remains in the Senate. [4]
[edit] Ferry to Nowhere
In 2007 Ted Stevens pushed for $84 million in Federal funding for an experimental ferry to follow the route of one of the Bridge to Nowhere spans, linking Anchorage to Port MacKenzie with a fifteen minute ferry ride rather than a two and a half hour car drive. Port MacKenzie has two businesses which combine to employee 40 individuals. The Office of Naval Research had previously rejected a proposal to fund a similar prototype to ferry soldiers and equipment, and has stated that they did not request or advise the funding in the proposal by Senator Stevens. [5]
[edit] Trident Seafood Airstrip
In 2007 Stevens added $3.5 million into a Senate spending bill this year to help finance an airport to serve a remote Alaskan island. The airstrip would connect the roughly 100 permanent residents of Akutan, but the biggest beneficiary is the Seattle-based Trident Seafoods Corp. that operates "one of the world’s largest seafood processing plants on the volcanic island in the Aleutians."
In December 2006 a federal grand jury investigating political corruption in Alaska ordered Trident and other seafood companies to produce documents about ties to the senator’s son, former Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board Chairman Ben Stevens. Trident’s Bundrant is a longtime supporter of Sen. Stevens, and Bundrant with his family contributed $17,300 since 1995 to Ted Stevens’ political campaigns and $10,800 to his leadership PAC while Bundrant also gave $55,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. [6]
[edit] Litigation
[edit] VECO Corruption Investigation
VECO Corporation, an oil-field services firm that has received earmarks from Senator Stevens in the past, came under investigation in 2006 for allegedly bribing several Alaska state politicians, including Ted Stevens' son Ben Stevens, president of the Alaska State Senate. After VECO CEO Bill Allen and VP Rick Smith plead guilty to federal conspiracy, bribery, and tax charges in May of 2007, it was discovered that VECO had served as the hiring company for contractors on the remodel of the Girdwood, Alaska home of Ted Stevens in 2000. Bills for the remodel were sent to the VECO CEO before being forwarded to Senator Stevens, so that the CEO could check them for accuracy. [7]
On July 30, 2007 the Stevens home in Girdwood was raided by FBI investigators and a note was discovered stating that Senator Stevens had spent $130,000 on the rennovation, despite previous bills showing carpentry costs alone totaled near $100,000. VECO CEO Bill Allen would go on to admit to investigators that a portion of the $400,000 he admitted to spending in relation to bribery charge included money spent on renovations of the Stevens home. [8] [9]
