Monday, November 13, 2006

Branding Irons for Pork

Democrats plan to link lawmakers with the pork they provide to special interests. Republicans had promised to do the same thing -- but never got around to it.

"Earmarks" -- federal spending slipped in by individual Congressmen -- has to be used for a specific project. The spending is referred to as "pork." Most earmarks are slipped in anonymously. The number of earmarks has ballooned under GOP control of Congress -- from 1,500 earmarks in 1994 to 15,000 last year.

The rule change would require a Congressman's name to be linked to the spending.

The link is #1 on incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) agenda. (USAToday)

No comments: