posty 2,867 Posted March 3, 2009 http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03...-of-earmarkers/ Drinking water and wastewater projects, mosquito-trapping research and beaver management and control, are just a few of the pet priorities – known as earmarks, that catapulted Senator Thad Cochran, Republican of Mississippi, to the top of the charts for earmarks in the $410 omnibus spending bill, according to a spreadsheet released on Monday by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington advocacy group. Angry debate is expected throughout this week in Congress over the roughly 9,000 earmarks in the 2009 spending bill that critics complain represent the worst kind of pork barrel spending. And the signal by the White House that President Obama will sign the bill, despite his own campaign promises to end earmarks, has only fueled the fury, particularly among some Republicans, like Senator John McCain of Arizona. But while Mr. McCain, a former nominee for president, has been among the loudest critics of the earmarks in the bill, the spreadsheet released by Taxpayers for Common Sense shows that six Republican senators are among the top 10 earmarkers, with Mr. Cochran, the senior Republican on the Appropriations Committee in the lead. According to the spreadsheet, Mr. Cochran had a hand in 204 earmarks worth nearly $471 million in federal spending, with 65 of those earmarks worth nearly $77 million requested specifically by him. Analyzed a different way, Senator Robert C. Byrd Jr., Democrat of West Virginia, takes the prize for top earmarker, with nearly $123 million in special projects included in the bill specifically at his request, out of a total of nearly $152 million that he requested in conjunction with other officials. Mr. Byrd, the senior member of the Senate, was chairman of the Appropriations Committee until the end of last year. A number of senators make the top 10 list regardless of which way it is sorted. In no particular order, they included: Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Democrat of Hawaii, the new chairman of the Appropriations Committee; Senator Richard C. Shelby, Republican of Alabama; Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California; Senator Christopher S. Bond, Republican of Missouri; and Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa. The Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, makes the top 10 for the number of projects requested specifically by him, with 36 earmarks worth more than $51 million. But using the broader measure of Mr. McConnell’s overall involvement in more than $75.5 million in earmarks, puts him toward the middle of the pack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewbieJr 541 Posted March 3, 2009 Baseball's starting soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Recliner Pilot 61 Posted March 3, 2009 I thought Obama was gonna do away with earmarks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
