Those Defense Earmarks – Perks You Can Believe In!

Lawmakers set aside more than $4 billion in earmarks in the just-approved 2010 defense appropriations bill, and watered down efforts to curb the practice of targeting spending for programs in members’ districts.

Among the earmarks in the Defense bill:

1. $18.9 million for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate sponsored by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA.);
2. a $23 million item for the Hawaii Healthcare Network, sponsored by Senate appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI);
3. a $20 million appropriation for the National World War II museum in New Orleans, by Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana;
4. $5 million for a Heritage Center at San Francisco’s historic Presidio, an item included by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her “community funding requests.”

Ms. Landrieu said in a statement that she was “proud” to secure the museum funding, which will be used to pay for the construction of a new wing that will include aircraft, tanks and landing vehicles used during the war. A spokesman for Ms. Pelosi said the Presidio item was requested by the Presidio Trust, adding that it was for rehabilitation of the Officers Club, a local landmark. 

One of the larger spending items is a $300 million appropriation touted by Reps. Jim Moran (D-VA.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), among others, to improve their region’s overstressed transportation system. The road widenings are justified by expanding operations at area military facilities, including new hospital facilities.

“Congress is committed to building world class facilities for our wounded warriors in the national capital region, and these funds are an integral part of that effort,” Mr. Van Hollen said.

As usual, many of the top recipients of earmarks in the defense bill were high-ranking appropriators:

1. Mr. Inouye got 37 earmarks totaling $198.2 million;
2. Ranking Republican Thad Cochran (R-MS.) got 45 totaling $167 million.

On the House side, defense subcommittee chairman John Murtha (D-PA) sponsored 23 earmarks totaling $76.5 million, while ranking Republican C.W. “Bill” Young got 36 totaling $83.7 million, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Keep in mind Barack Hussein Obama avoided a fight by saying that the legislation was a holdover from the previous session of Congress, when Republicans were in control and persuaded lawmakers not to add funding earmarks to the $787 billion stimulus package that Congress approved earlier this year. Not long after that, Congress approved a $410 billion spending bill that was full of earmarks, to the tune of 10,000 plus. At the time, Obama said the legislation should “mark an end to the old way of doing business.”

Barack Hussein Obama, earmarks, lies, using the military as a prop, and change you don’t wish to believe in. Indeed!