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Earmarks

The Constructive Effects of Public Exposure

Winslow T. Wheeler | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Senate Armed Services Committee, Defense Spending, Pork, Support the Troops, Earmarks, Defense Budget, House Armed Services Committee, Winslow T. Wheeler, Politics News
Winslow T. Wheeler

After the practice was publicly identified in recent debates, the Congressional Armed Services Committees seem to have reduced one of their own more obnoxious, anti-defense, pro-pork activities.

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The Spirit of the Illinois Constitution

Edwin Yohnka | Posted 10.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois Budget, Chicago West Side, Pat Quinn, Earmarks, Separation of Church and State, Pat Quinn Budget, ACLU of Illinois, Religion and Politics, Chicago News
Edwin Yohnka

Is it really possible that a school whose mission is based on teaching a specific set of religious values can distinguish which parts of the building are religious and which are not?

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The Pentagon Kluge That Refuses to Die

Winslow T. Wheeler | Posted 10.14.2009 | Politics

Read More: F-22, Robert Gates, Earmarks, F-22 Raptor, Congress, Pork, Defense Spending, Defense Budget, Winslow T. Wheeler, Politics News
Winslow T. Wheeler

After a long fight, Gates and President Obama ultimately prevailed this summer in ending further F-22 production. Game over. Right? Anyone who thinks so doesn't appreciate the staying power of Congress' porkers.

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Defense Pork Ladled Out To Defense Subcommittees' Campaign Contributors

The Huffington Post | Arthur Delaney | Posted 10.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Pork, Defense Spending, Earmarks, Lobbyblog, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Transparency, Politics News

Earmark watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense is barking: The 18 members of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense will bring home 60 percent...

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Support Our Troops: The Senate Porkers' Approach

Winslow T. Wheeler | Posted 10.08.2009 | Politics

Read More: Tom Coburn, Senate, John McCain, Defense Spending, Pork, Earmarks, Defense Budget, Defense Appropriations, Politics News
Winslow T. Wheeler

In 30 years on Capitol Hill, I never saw Congress mangle the defense budget as badly as this year. Despite that, I see signs that we might be on the cusp of a change for the better.

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Former GOP Whip Gave Earmark To Former Staffer

The Huffington Post | Jenna Staul | Posted 10.05.2009 | Business

Read More: Earmarks, Lobbying, Business News

Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt has come under fire from the Center for Public Integrity for engaging in a controversial pattern of providing earmarks to a fo...

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Murthaville: Just Down the Road from Backscratch, Pa.

Rick Horowitz | Posted 09.22.2009 | Politics

Read More: House of Representatives, John Murtha, Earmarks, Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Congress, Congressional Pork, Appropriations Committee, Jack Murtha, Campaign Contributions, Politics News
Rick Horowitz

Welcome to Murthaville, home to the John Murtha Institute for Applied Generosity and the John Murtha Attack Submarine Test Facility and Senior Center.

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Ethics Panel Members Get Defense Earmarks While Investigating Them

Washington Post | Posted 08.31.2009 | Politics

Read More: John Murtha, Jo Bonner, Earmarks, Pma Group, Lobbying, House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, Lobbyists, House of Representatives, Appropriations, House Ethics Committee, Zoe Lofgren, Visclosky, Transparency, Politics News

Members of the House ethics committee, who are investigating a pattern of lawmakers steering federal funds to generous defense contractors, have just ...

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If It Squeals Like Pork...

Rick Horowitz | Posted 08.30.2009 | Politics

Read More: F-22, House Appropriations Committee, John Murtha, Pentagon, Senate Appropriations Commitee, Robert Gates, Appropriations Process, Earmarks, Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Appropriations, Congressional Earmarks, Budget Process, Appropriations Committee, Pentagon Budget, C-17, Politics News
Rick Horowitz

You can always use an extra transport plane -- that's the way I figured it. I knew just where to find one, too. I called Congress.

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Merriam-Webster Dictionary Adds Definition Of 'Earmark'

Los Angeles Times | Richard Simon | Posted 08.18.2009 | Media

Read More: Merriam Webster, Earmarks, Dictionary, Earmark Definition, Earmark, Media News

Those who pore over congressional legislation in search of earmarks often have been guided by the "I know it when I see it" maxim that Justice Potter ...

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Earmarks Should Require an Itemized Receipt

Rep. Bill Cassidy | Posted 08.16.2009 | Politics

Read More: Rep. Jackie Speier, Anti-Earmarkers, Sunlight Foundation, Earmarks, Nancy Pelosi Earmarks, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, The Hill, Rep. Bill Cassidy, Taxpayers, Politics News
Rep. Bill Cassidy

Transparency, accountability, and rigorous oversight are the keys to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in government. They are also the keys to regaining taxpayers' trust.

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Climate Bill Earmarks $500M for Clean Coal 'Admin Expenses'

David Sassoon | Posted 07.04.2009 | Green

Read More: Earmarks, Clean Coal, National Carbon Capture Center, Rick Boucher, Waxman-Markey, Joe Barton, Carbon Storage Research Corporation, Light Switch Tax, Ccs, John Shimkus, Epri, Green Energy, Green News
David Sassoon

Republican opponents of climate legislation told the public that a cap-and-trade bill would impose a "light switch tax." It was a witty and effective slogan used to scare voters.

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Campaign Finance Reform: A Matter of National Security

Bob Edgar | Posted 06.28.2009 | Politics

Read More: John Murtha, Fair Elections Now Act, Fair Elections, Common Cause, Defense, No-Bid Contracts, Earmarks, Transparency, Politics News
Bob Edgar

Our bloated defense budget is another example of how campaign finance skews policy and spending priorities towards those who give the most and often have significant influence.

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New Congressman Quigley Requests Millions In Earmarks

Huffington Post | Posted 05.25.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Appropriations, Quigley Appropriations, Quigley Earmarks, Earmarks, Mike Quigley, Chicago-Illinois, Chicago News

Just days after being sworn in as the newest Democratic member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley submitted requests for tens of millions of dollars ...

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Ryan Grim

71 Lawmakers Fail To Disclose Earmarks By Deadline

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 05.13.2009 | Politics

Read More: Tcs, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Earmarks, Earmark Disclosure, Transparency, Politics News

Making rules is easy enough. Following them - not so much. More than 48 hours since the deadline to disclose earmark requests passed, 71 members of C...

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Ryan Grim

Dems Target GOP Congressman's Paper Trail Of Pork

HuffingtonPost.com | Ryan Grim | Posted 04.30.2009 | Politics

Read More: Pork, Kevin McCarthy, Earmarks, Military Contractors, Politics News

When the ground shifts, politicians still standing often are left to explain positions that made plenty of sense on the old terrain but are now more c...

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Bachmann Admits She Took Earmarks After Claiming Otherwise

Minnesota Independent | Posted 04.17.2009 | Politics

Read More: Michelle Bachmann, Economic Stimulus Package, Michele Bachmann, Earmarks, Michele Bachman, Michele Bachmann Earmarks, Omnibus, Pork, House Rep Michele Bachmann, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Politics News

Just days after saying she had requested zero earmarks for her district, Rep. Michele Bachmann admitted to Fox News' Brian Wilson that she had indeed ...

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Daley And Durbin Make Case For Earmarks: 'They Are Defensible'

Chicago Tribune | Hal Dardick | Posted 04.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Earmarks, Stimulus Package, Dick Durbin, Mayor Daley, Illinois Stimulus Funds, Chicago Stimulus Projects, Durbin Earmarks, Chicago News

As the federal government descends deeper into deficit spending, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Mayor Richard Daley today came out in defense of one politi...

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What About the GOP's First 50 Days?

Craig Crawford | Posted 04.13.2009 | Politics

Read More: John McCain, Earmarks, Rush Limbaugh, Republican Party, Politics News
Craig Crawford

This was the week for obligatory reviews of the President's first 50 days. In this video, I consider the Republican Party's first 50 days in the Age o...

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Earmarks -- What's All the Fuss About!

Carl Jeffers | Posted 04.12.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Administration, Obama Budget, Senate Omnibus Bill, Senate, Pork, Earmarks, Budget Bill, Politics News
Carl Jeffers

Earmarks will not be abandoned, as they are wanted, needed, and counted on.

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Congress Takes the Pledge -- But First a Little Binge

Rick Horowitz | Posted 04.12.2009 | Politics

Read More: Budget Discipline, Dave Obey, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Steve Ellis, Omnibus Spending Bill, Congress, Barack Obama, Obama Administration, Earmarks, Nancy Pelosi, Budget Reform, Spending Reform, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Harry Reid, Congressional Spending, Politics News
Rick Horowitz

And now, ladies and gentlemen, direct from Capitol Hill for your after-dinner entertainment -- won't you give it up, please, for: Your Congressional Chorus!

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John McCain and the Tale of the Earmarks

Joanne Bamberger | Posted 04.11.2009 | Politics

Read More: Punditmom, Pork Barrel Spending, John McCain, Joanne Bamberger, Earmarks, Federal Spending, Federal Budget, Politics News
Joanne Bamberger

Senator McCain (or his staff) is on a Twitter campaign to convince us that he has our budget interests at heart and that the Democrats are going on a wild earmark spree.

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Pssst, They're Stealing from You. Again.

John W. Whitehead | Posted 04.11.2009 | Politics

Read More: Pork Barrel Spending, Omnibus, Earmarks, Stimulus Earmarks, Pork-Barrel-Spending, Stimulus Package, Stimulus-Package-Earmarks, Spending Bill Earmarks, Omnibus Spending Bill, Pork, Spending-Bill-Earmarks, Politics News
John W. Whitehead

Despite our president's pledge to ban all earmarks, the Omnibus spending bill is loaded with ridiculous, wasteful projects that have absolutely nothing to do with keeping the federal government operating.

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Media Focus On Earmarks Allows Omnibus Opponents To Control Debate

Media Matters | Posted 04.10.2009 | Politics

Read More: Meet the Press, John McCain, Earmarks, David Gregory, Appropriations, Omnibus Spending Bill, Pork Barrel Spending, Pork, Omnibus Earmarks, Politics News

Numerous media outlets have devoted significant coverage to the earmarks contained in the pending omnibus appropriations bill, even though, according ...

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Vitter Slams 'Bloated' Omnibus While Benefiting From $249 Million In Earmarks

Think Progress | Posted 04.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Vitter Prostitute, Earmarks, Sen. David Vitter, Senate Omnibus Bill, Omnibus Spending Bill, Omnibus, Vitter DC Madam, Omnibus Earmarks, David Vitter, Vitter, Senator David Vitter, Politics News

Republicans like Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-AZ), have been attacking the $410 billion omnibus spending bill, claiming that it has too ...

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