Bennett is the last member of Utah's delegation to identify the Utah defense contractors he helped in the budget process.

But what instigated the public disclosure had much more to do with a miscommunication than any change of heart.

A member of the powerful appropriations committee that oversees earmarks, Bennett declined repeated requests for an interview, deciding instead to speak through his spokeswoman Tara Hendershott.

She said Bennett released the names because he was told by defense subcommittee staffers that they also were going to make the information public.

"Sen. Bennett's office policy has always been to follow the practices of the subcommittee," Hendershott said.

But then the subcommittee staff didn't follow through, reverting to the standard practice of leaving the decision up to each senator.

About half the senators release the intended recipients of earmarks and half do not. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch does name names in his releases, as does Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

House members don't have a choice. By rule, they must disclose the company names.

Anti-earmark groups such as Taxpayers for Common Sense have railed against the uneven disclosure. When Bennett wouldn't identify the companies he helped last year, Keith Ashdown, the chief investigator for the group, called it "outrageous."

"There is a fundamental right of the taxpayers to know where their money is being spent."

At the time, Bennett said he was keeping quiet because he didn't want to impact the stock prices of the companies and he couldn't be 100 percent sure the money would go to the company he listed. The final decision rests with the Defense Department. However, it is quite rare for the Defense Department to go against the wishes of a member of Congress on an earmark.

Still Bennett's main reason for not releasing the names came down to committee rules.

But that's no longer the case.

Even if the subcommittee continues to keep the company names private, Bennett will from now on identify the beneficiaries of his earmarks.

"Our office will continue to release the names of the potential recipients," Hendershott said in an e-mail.

Earmarks are projects funded at the request of individual members of Congress, most of which go to benefit their district or state. They are outside of the normal budgeting process and not made public until they are included in a bill, sometimes just hours before a vote.

Earmarks account for about $18 billion a year, which is only a small fraction of the federal budget.

Both presidential candidates have called for earmark reform, discussing it in all three of their debates. But Republican John McCain has taken a much tougher stance.

He called earmarks "a gateway drug" leading to out-of-control spending and corruption in the first debate with Sen. Barack Obama. He wants earmarks eliminated, even while saying that some are worthwhile. On the campaign trail, he often promises to veto any spending bill that includes earmarks and confront members of Congress who push for pet projects.

"I will make them famous. You will know their names," McCain said.

Obama would not eliminate earmarks but he does want the process to be more transparent. He has called for releasing information on earmarks online 72 hours before a vote in the Senate. Right now, the information is limited, usually involving a one-sentence description released right before the vote.

Bennett, like most members of the appropriations committee, defends earmarks, saying he is proud of the money he has secured for the state. But his staff would only talk in generalities about any possible reforms of the process.

"Sen. Bennett supports accountability and transparency in the earmark process and will work with his Senate colleagues to examine changes that may be proposed in the next congressional session," Hendershott said.

Bennett's name is attached to 24 defense earmarks worth a total of $54 million for the next fiscal year. For five of those projects, worth $10 million, he is the only sponsor, including one with the vague title "effect based approach to operations."

Many are repeat projects funded routinely over the years and most go to major contractors in Utah such as ATK and L-3 Communications, but also smaller companies such as Klune Industries, which is working on a lightweight hybrid armored vehicle.

mcanham@sltrib.com