What's a few hundred million dollars among friends?

It's a lot of money, that's what. And it's the kind of cash, to pay for special "earmarked" projects, that passes through congressional hands.

It's far too much money to be batted about Capitol Hill without review. The amount any lawmaker is given is a function of party affiliation, political clout, committee assignments and other factors.

And while many projects that receive the funds may be worthy, the selection is not a process conducted openly. The results are usually known to the public only when the funding has been approved.

That's how our delegation prefers it, apparently.

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye in particular has made a name as a leading breadwinner where earmarks are concerned: $230 million last year on his own, with $184 million more in earmarks secured jointly with other lawmakers.

Without a doubt, his rank and seniority have made him an influential senator who "brings home the bacon" to Hawai'i. Nothing wrong with that kind of result.

But his staff, and spokespersons for other members of the delegation, have said the elected leaders would resist pledges to disclose requests for earmarks, saying it would set up false expectations and disappointment when requests don't come through.

That's just nonsense. The taxpayers are not children who need to be shielded from the tough realities of budgetary constraints. They are, in fact, the funders of the federal budget who deserve access to information at every step of the way.

Even Rep. Mazie Hirono's rationale — that releasing the earmark requests could compromise efforts by companies and organizations to secure funding from other public and private sources — won't hold water. Those other sources know that a pending financial request before Congress is anything but a slam dunk and can't be counted as money already in the bank.

Inouye, according to his spokesman, "is sensitive to any situation that could create the impression that he is not fair or even-handed."

That is precisely the point. Bringing more sunlight to the funding requests and grants process would help to convey that sense of fairness.

The same push for transparency is what drove the state Legislature to its new grants funding process that makes it clear whose requests came in and who went away empty-handed.

We need that same clarity in Congress, too.