Next time you want to complain about the lack of openness in government, just remember that our Congresswoman is as different as she said she would be.

Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand came to the attention of The Albany Project by posting a list of her earmark requests. In an accompanying letter, she writes:

In a continued effort to bring openness and transparency to our federal government, I have decided to publish a full list of local projects I have requested to be considered for federal funding by the House Appropriations Committee in Fiscal Year 2009. I started this practice as an important earmark reform in 2007, my first year in office. At the time I was the second Member of Congress to do so. Since that time, a handful of other Members have taken up the practice and I will continue to urge my colleagues to post their local project requests on-line as well.

This year, in addition to posting all my local requests again, I have reduced the number of projects I am personally requesting by 60%. Since 1996, the number of congressional earmarks has increased by 1,200 percent, and I felt it was important to lead by example in cutting the number of my own requests.

I am also committed to bringing fiscal accountability back to the federal budget. This means that the vast majority of the projects below will not receive approval by the Appropriations Committee. In fact, it is likely that only a handful will ever receive federal funding. But in the end, all earmarks are paid for with taxpayer dollars, and I think you have a right to know what has been requested.

To review the entire list of earmarks — that is, who, what for, and how much — click here.

Open and transparent … this is how it’s done.