10,000 earmarks. You've got to be kidding, Congress. This is

[yy4me]

more like 10,000 BLACKMARKS. When the heck are you guys going to listen to the American people? When will you realize that "WE THE PEOPLE" do not want any of your extra fluff in our national budget and that we demand you stop. You are bleeding us dry. We're up to our necks in your blather about fiscal responsibility while you tack on the little extras like a $700,000 bike path. How about using the earmark funds for the homeless, the sick, the financially destitute. It seems that no matter what we say, you don't listen.

How about the national newspapers publishing a list of earmarks and their sponsors so that we may know about them and can make a few calls to some of our legislators who pull this junk on us.

Merry Christmas Congress, this budget, all 500 pages of it, should be good holiday reading. On second thought, will you read it at all or just sign it to get your special project on its merry way.

I'm disgusted and can not wait for the election....oh yea, that's what I said last time!

[acmavm]

1. I am always amazed by the terms the come up with that actually mean

graft.

[Uben]

2. Any senator who signs this bill should be removed

This pisses me off to no end! This is republinomics part deux. I swear I will not vote for any of these bastards! Don't tehy realize how indebted we are already? It's time to clean our own house!

[bigscott]

3. I agree to a point

I would imagine 99% of these earmarks are a waste of money. But there are earmarks in spending bills that actually benefit people. We all expect our elected congressmen/women to look after our interests. I know for a fact that one of the earmarks in the 2005 budget was for a transportation project in my home state of CT that actually benefited many people who travel on the states highways.

And it also employed a friend of mine for 18 months working on the project. Good pay and medical coverage for his family.

Again, I agree most earmarks are a waste - but until they eliminate ALL of them, each congressman will fight for a slice of the graft pie to show off at re-election time.

And SOME do some good

Peace:donut:

[TheFarseer]

4. The worst part is

we get OUR people in there and they are still doing the same crap. One earmark is for a footbridge over the Missouri between Omaha and Council Bluffs ($3,000,000) and no one around here ever gives a crap. I haven't heard anyone say, "boy, I can't wait til we get the footbridge." It's just got to stop.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Still down about 1/3 from last year's bill. And earmarks doesn't necessarily mean 'pork'.

The Senate bill approved in committee earmarks numerous accounts ranging from the International Trade Administration to grants to local police forces although, all told, earmarks are cut one-third from the fiscal 2006 enacted levels of roughly $1.3 billion.
http://govexec.com/dailyfed/0707/071007cdam1.htm

The 2005 bill had 13,492 earmarks.

Interesting document on earmarks (there is no overall accepted definition of what is and isn't an earmark) is here: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/m012606.pdf


It's hard to compare this omnibus spending bill, since in some years each Cabinet department gets separate funding.