LASMD (Laughing And Shaking My Head)
I made that one up. Too bad the following is not made up.
(F.Y.I. What is a white elephant party? Click here to find out.)
An earmark Christmas
By Alexander Bolton
December 18, 2007
Congressional negotiators have added scores of new earmarks to a massive 3,565-page spending bill that lawmakers had only a few hours to review before an expected vote Monday evening. Democratic leaders did not make the bill available for public viewing until late on Sunday night.
In the Homeland Security section alone, lawmakers have added 115 new earmarks worth $117 million total for the benefit of vulnerable Democrats such as Reps. Jim Marshall (Ga.), John Barrow (Ga.), and Nancy Boyda (Kan.). Leaders added $200,000 or more worth of projects for each of those lawmakers.
Critics refer to such bills as “Christmas trees†because they are laden with a variety of legislative ornaments and bear plenty of gifts for members. And it seems this December, many in Congress are eager to play the role of Santa to their constituents.
Democratic leaders have also slipped in projects that would have surely drawn opposition if introduced earlier in the appropriations process. One example is $1 million for an energy project requested by Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who is scheduled to face trial on bribery charges early next year.
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), an outspoken opponent of earmarks, said dozens of projects in the Homeland Security title have never received any scrutiny. Because they have been added so late, they cannot be challenged individually on the House floor.
“I could have challenged that earmark and debated it,†Flake said of the Jefferson project. “Now I can’t do it.â€
Democratic leaders have also deleted controversial policy riders that President Bush and his advisers have promised to veto, making significant concessions to ensure the so-called omnibus becomes law. Otherwise, much of the federal government would have to operate for another year at frozen funding levels, and the thousands of earmarks that lawmakers labored for would remain inert. (more)…
And guess who is begging for taxpayer booty??
CBC complains of unfair treatment
By: Josephine Hearn
The Congressional Black Caucus demanded an “emergency meeting†with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Monday night to address concerns ranging from the unfair distribution of earmarks to the need for Gulf Coast reconstruction efforts.
In a letter to Pelosi last Thursday, Caucus Chairwoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) said the caucus needed to discuss these “matters of extreme urgency†with the speaker as soon as possible.
Pelosi agreed to meet with the caucus, Kilpatrick said Monday.
But Kilpatrick would not elaborate on the specific requests she would make to the speaker.
“It’s the end of the year and we’ll be looking at the things that are coming. We were concerned that much would be going on and we are meeting as a caucus to discuss that with her,†Kilpatrick said.
In her letter, she singled out the unequal awarding of earmarks. A recent analysis of earmarks by Congressional Quarterly showed that white members received on average twice the funding that African-American lawmakers received for requests made by a single person. (more…)
And here is where congress gives you the finger—
Spending bill shrinks border fence
Sphere: Related Content
