Historical Center earmark assailedApparently, you have to be careful what you wish for.Back in February 2008, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center asked Rep. Barbara Cubin to earmark $190,000 of federal money. The center would use the funds to study and digitize William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody's personal papers.

Cubin left office in January — but not before she placed the historical center's request in the 2009 federal budget bill.

In recent days, that earmark has become an object of national attention.

Taxpayers for Common Sense, a government watchdog group, combed through the omnibus spending bill, and documented some 8,570 earmarks, totaling $7.7 billion. In a news release, the group drew specific attention to 10 earmarks, among them, the historical center's request.

That spawned a slew of national media mentions — with critics panning the funding as an example of “pork-barrel spending.”

Conservative Fox News commentator Glenn Beck blasted the Historical Center grant on his Feb. 26 television broadcast, calling the earmarks a reason “why we're losing our country.”

“I've been there (the Historical Center); I like it. But you know what? If you can't get it done locally, why the hell am I paying for it here?” he fumed.

Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) — a long-time anti-earmark crusader — listed the center's grant as one of his “top 10 porkiest projects” for March 3.

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center issued a news release that day, defending the funding as part of an academic project that ultimately will be made “available to the entire world.”

The grant would finance the work of researchers and editors in gathering, documenting, interpreting and digitizing “Buffalo Bill” Cody's unpublished writings.

The center already has secured $310,000 in private donations and $300,000 from the Wyoming Legislature to partially fund the project, said the release.

“This (federal) funding request is a normal part of the process that museums and many other institutions go through to secure funding, not only for particular projects, but for general operating support,” said Bruce Eldredge, Buffalo Bill Historical Center Executive Director, in a statement. “This request will provide additional support for what we consider to be important scholarly work. It's unfortunate that some people appear to regard scholarship as unnecessary.”

Wyoming's current congressional delegation has not supported the funding.

Cubin's successor, Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), said the overall $410 billion federal omnibus budget bill was too pricey.

“Congressional leaders are turning a blind eye to the plight of millions of Americans by passing this bloated pork-laden spending bill,” said Lummis in a Feb. 25 statement.

Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso (both R-Wyo.) voted unsuccessfully to remove all earmarks from the budget.

“My colleagues are digging a pork-filled grave for the fiscal health of our country,” said Enzi in a March 3 statement.

It's not the first time local interests have stood to benefit from a federal earmark.

Powell Valley Healthcare received a $383,187 earmark in last year's federal budget bill. The money paid for upgrades to the hospital's electronic communication systems.

According to the federal Office of Management and Budget, the money was set aside by Cubin and Enzi.

The budget office defines earmarks as any fund that “circumvents the merit-based or competitive allocation process, or specifies the location or recipient, or otherwise curtails the ability of the executive branch to properly manage funds.”