Talk About Conflict of Interest!

Alaska Bridge to Nowhere Linked to Senator's Property:

When Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) defends the $223 million "Bridge to Nowhere" for a near desolate island in her homestate of Alaska, she may have good reasons.

It also helps that her family owns property on the island.

This past October, Sen. Murkowski took to the Senate floor to stop efforts to redirect federal funding for the bridge to help disaster relief in the Katrina zone and New Orleans.

She told her colleagues it was "very difficult to stand here as an Alaskan and not take this personally."

And for the Senator it may be very personal.

Though Gravina Island, Alaska has a population of just fifty, it is scheduled to benefit from this year's massive highway bill that doled out more than $24 billion in pork projects across the nation.

Alaska's congressional delegation secured a total of $941 million in pork projects, including $223 million for construction of the Alaskan bridge linking Gravina and its airport to the neighboring island of Ketchikan with a population of 14,000.

That's $4.46 million per resident of Gravina.

Recent news reports have revealed the Murkowski family owns land within one mile of the proposed construction site on Gravina Island...

Hat Tip: fellow SOBer Weapons of Mass Discussion