WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is rallying support to build an elaborate institute in Boston named for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, but a lavish event held in Washington on Wednesday night raised more questions about who will pay for it.

The fact that the event wasn't being called a fundraiser raised questions because the Kennedy Institute is supposed to be heavily funded by private donations, Team 5 Investigates Sean Kelly said. Despite the criticism, no one seemed prepared to back off from public financing.

"There's no bigger tribute we can do for him than to make the Edward M. Kennedy Senate Institute a reality," Obama said.

The president urged donors to follow through with efforts to get the $100 million Kennedy Institute built that will eventually be constructed alongside the John F. Kennedy Library.

"This institution will stoke a new passion for the Senate and inspire, we hope, a new generation to pursue the Kennedy legacy of service," Obama said.

Even as the institute's Web site asks for the generosity of thousands, much of the cost is already going to be paid by taxpayers. Obama gave no mention to dropping federal tax spending that Congress approved at an early stage.

Team 5 Investigates first reported how Rep. Ed Markey, D-District 7, and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., quietly requested $20 million in earmarks for the project -- some of it from defense spending.

"This is to build a replica of the Senate chamber, so, I guess, with all the pork that goes through the Senate, maybe it is appropriate that taxpayers are funding it through a pork barrel project," said Dave Williams, of Citizens Against Government Waste.

The dinner has been called a fundraiser for months, but organizers told the Associated Press on Wednesday night it was not.

So, what do you call a room filled with wealthy donors at the Ritz Carlton in Washington, D.C., all there for the same cause? NewsCenter 5 made numerous attempts to get answers from the organizers but did not get a response Wednesday night.