WASHINGTON --

Amid a crippling economic crisis, your community could be poised for a huge influx of federal cash.

This week, Seattle-area congressional leaders are releasing a laundry list of requests for federal money. All of them are in the form of so-called "congressional earmarks," a controversial technique through which members of Congress squirrel away federal tax dollars for local projects and organizations.

A review of requests by KIROTV.COM revealed large-ticket items for both high-profile and low-profile local organizations. They include:

$15,000,000 - King County - for 25 Hybrid Buses

$550,000 - King County Sheriff's Department - for school resource officers

$500,000 - for renovations of Seattle Asian Art Museum at Volunteer Park

$1,000,000 - for property acquisition - City of Tacoma- for intermodal transportation center

$1,000,000 - to extend NE 120th St. - Kirkland

$750,000 - for pedestrian safety improvements - Suquamish

Money Requested For Your Neighborhood?

To read the full list of requests for the Seattle area, click on the links for requests by local congressional leaders:
LINK: Earmarks Requested by Rep. Jim McDermott
LINK: Earmarks Requested by Rep. Adam Smith
LINK: Earmarks Requested by Rep. Jay Inslee
LINK: Earmarks Requested by Rep. Dave Reichert

Congress will consider these and thousands of other earmark requests this spring as it produces formal spending bills for 2010. In previous years, billions of dollars worth of federal earmarks have been approved. But this year's outlook is murkier because of President Barack Obama's description of earmarks as "wasteful." It remains unclear whether Obama will sign a congressional bill stuffed with them.

Sean Spicer, former U.S. House budget aide and founding partner in the Washington-based Endeavour Global Strategies group, said, "What (House members) propose has got to pass the smell test. Members need to know that taxpayers, citizens and constituents are going to look at everything and say 'Does this makes sense?"

VIDEO: Former House Budget Aide Reveals Contoversy Surrounding Local Earmarks

Rep. Jim McDermott defended his long list of earmark requests in a statement issued to KIROTV.COM. McDermott said, “Maybe we do things differently in Seattle and the surrounding communities because every request that I received for an earmark in the coming fiscal year was for a worthwhile project that would benefit our community or country."

On a posting on his government website, Rep. Jay Inslee said his office sifted through a large list of requests from the community. The posting said, "In these troubled economic times, federal support for important local projects is more crucial than ever. This year my office received over a hundred requests for funding from constituents in the 1st Congressional District, totaling over $623 million of dollars."

VIDEO: Scott MacFarlane Reports - Big-Ticket Money Requests For Puget Sound Region