Washington- Just days after a government watchdog group released its annual report on worthless Washington spending, some in the U.S. House have signaled they may load up a critical troop funding bill with lawmaker pet projects that receive little to no public scrutiny. Citizens Against Government Waste’s “Pig Book” details the nearly $18 billion worth of pet projects squeezed into just 12 spending bills for Fiscal Year 2008 such as $212,000 for olive fruit fly research in Paris, France, $188,000 for the Lobster Institute in Maine and $149,000 for the Montana Sheep Institute.
In recent weeks, the House Democratic leadership had led the American public to believe they would join House Republicans in supporting an immediate freeze on all taxpayer-funded “earmarks,” but we learned recently that they now refuse to do so. Instead, the Democratic leadership hinted it will again pile unrelated spending onto the backs of our troops fighting the global War on Terror. Last year, this bill was porked up with such “priorities” as peanut storage and money for spinach farmers.
In a recent speech to the American Legion, I warned about 1,500 state commanders that there will be politicians who view the troop funding bill as an opportunity for pork-barrel spending. Using the troop funding bill as a vehicle for pork is wrong. The bill should be focused on keeping our troops and our nation safe, and House Republicans will again fight to make sure our warriors get the money they need without having to shoulder worthless Washington spending