Top 10 senators seeking earmarks

The omnibus spending bill died Thursday in the Senate amid controversy over the practice of earmarking, or inserting funding for pet projects into legislation. Here are the senators who sought the most spending for their states, ranked by the monetary value of proposed earmarks, whether alone or with others.

8. Carl Levin (D) of Michigan

Newscom/File

Number of earmarks: 120

Amount requested: $203.9 million

Many of the requests made by Senator Levin were in the labor, health and human services, and education categories, designated for community and technical colleges, vocational programs for transitioning workers, military veterans, and at-risk populations, as well as on-the-job training. Levin joined with many other lawmakers around the country to seek funding for education initiatives such as Teach for America and 'Reach Out and Read.'

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