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Obama Signs Defense Bill That Includes $4 Billion In Pork Barrel Spending (Wall Street Journal)
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.
The earmarking total for 2010 represented a 14% drop from last year’s defense bill, according to an analysis by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group that is critical of the process. The House included language in its defense bill that could subject earmarks for for-profit companies to full and open competition. But the Senate resisted, meaning that senators apparently will continue to set aside spending for favored companies, the group said.
The $626 billion bill passed the Senate on Saturday, and President Barack Obama signed it into law Monday. The bill also includes brief extensions of jobless benefits and transportation spending.
The White House on Monday touted the federal government’s efforts to become more efficient, highlighting a new report that shows federal agencies have identified more than $19 billion in contract savings for fiscal year 2010. The administration says the government is now on track to meet its goal of saving $40 billion annually by fiscal year 2011.
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