Missouri Political News Service

You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours

May 31st, 2007 by mopns · No Comments

Citizens Against Government Waste has just published a comprehensive list of the 447 earmarks worth $7.6 billion in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, H.R. 1585. The bill is one of the first to fall under a new House rule that requires public disclosure of an earmark’s sponsor, recipient, amount, and justification.

Here’s a few of the local lowlights:

$2.42 billion for the C-17 Globemaster III, requested by seven members: Reps. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), Rob Bishop (R-Utah), Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.), and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) for Boeing in Long Beach, Calif.; Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) for the USAF Aeronautical Center, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio; and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) for Vought Aircraft Industries, Dallas, Texas.

Now these earmarks are expected since these members have military contractors in their districts. This next list of earmarks has us raising our eyebrows a little:

$3 million for the Parents as Teachers, Heroes at Home Family Counseling Program in St. Louis, Missouri, requested by Reps. Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and Don Young (R-Alaska)

First, what does this program have to do with national defense. And why are these representatives requesting an earmark for a St. Louis program? The Democrats are cleaning House, huh?

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