In January, US Representative Glenn Thompson from Pennsylvania’s 5th District announced that he would be accepting applications from his district, which includes the Penn State community, for federal appropriations for projects.

“I am promoting an open and transparent process and will conduct a review of each project on a competitive basis,” said Thompson.

Emphasis on “competitive.” On his website, where requests and applications can be submitted, he stresses that all requests for federal appropriations cannot be granted. Also, on the site, it says that their are a large number of requests submitted to the government each year and with the economy the way it is, the budget for such projects may be tighter and project applications may be more competitive.

It also states on his website that those wishing to submit requests should also prepare to meet with the Congressman or his staff (or even more likely, Wendy the assistant) with letters of support from the community in hand. One should expect to proffer a bit of groveling as well.

The deadline for these requests ends on February 16.