The War On Spinach, Peanuts, and Salmon

Democrats are giddy over their "victory" in passing the Iraq Spending Bill that guarantees defeat. The Des Moines Register mentions all the goodies for Iowa in the bill:

Iraq spending bill has money for Iowa

Most attention has been paid to the $103 billion for war operations but Congress tacked on another $21 billion for needs on the home front such as hurricane relief, agricultural disaster aid mostly directed to states other than Iowa, and more.

That includes $400 million for energy assistance intended for low-income families, many elderly or with disabilities, who need help paying utility bills. Federal money for the popular program was cut this year, and as a result, the average one-time grant in Iowa declined to $320.

The final package also includes $646 million for state-federal children's health insurance programs that are facing a crunch because of rising enrollments.

What they don't tell you is the bill also includes a lot of crap. Here are the other NEEDS on the homefront. Courtesy of Citizens Against Government Waste:

CAGW: Senate Sweetens Supplemental

$1.5 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers for recovery along the coast, including funding for Hawaii for an April 2006 flood;

$850 million for Department of Homeland Security grants ($625M for rail/transit grants, $190M for port security grants, and $35M for urban area security grants);

$660 million for the procurement of an explosives detection system for the Transportation Security Administration;

$640 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program;

$425 million for education grants for rural areas;

$388.9 million for a backlog of Department of Transportation projects;

$165.9 million (including $60.4 million for salmon fisheries in the Klamath Basin region) for fisheries disaster relief;

$75 million for salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency;

$48 million in disaster construction money for NASA;

$25 million for grants through the Safe and Drug Free Schools program;

$25 million for asbestos abatement at the Capitol Power Plant;

$24 million to sugar beet producers;

$22.8 million for geothermal research and development;

$20 million for reimbursements to Nevada for “insect damage;”

$12 million for Forest Service money requested by the president in the non-emergency FY2008 budget

$3.5 million for guided tours of the Capitol;

$3 million for sugar cane; and

Allows the transfer of funds from holiday ornament sales in the Senate gift shop.

And the Senate didn't do too bad either in raking in some more dough to buy their votes:

The Porkers are Back: Congress Fattens Up Emergency Supplemental

$500 million for emergency wildfires suppression; the Forest Service currently has $831 million for this purpose;

$400 million for rural schools;

$283 million for the Milk Income Loss Contract program;

$120 million to compensate for the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the shrimp and menhaden fishing industries;

$100 million for citrus assistance;

$74 million for peanut storage costs;

$60.4 million for salmon fisheries in the Klamath River region in California and Oregon;

$50 million for asbestos mitigation at the U.S. Capitol Plant;

$48 million in salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency;

$35 million for NASA risk mitigation projects in Gulf Coast;

$25 million for spinach growers;

$25 million for livestock;

$20 million for Emergency Conservation Program for farmland damaged by freezing temperatures;

$16 million for security upgrades to House of Representatives office buildings;

$10 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission for the Rio Grande Flood Control System Rehabilitation project;

$6.4 million for House of Representative’s Salaries and Expenses Account for business continuity and disaster recovery expenses;

$5 million for losses suffered by aquaculture businesses including breeding, rearing, or transporting live fish as a result of viral hemorrhagic septicemia;

$4 million for the Office of Women’s Health at the Food and Drug Administration; and

A minimum wage increase, which is the subject of separate legislation.

Some of the freshman Representatives who campaigned against "government waste" couldn't resist the temptation in the end. Obviously violating their opposition to spending money and earmarks and...well...it was all a bunch of lies as usual:

The Iraq Spending Bill - Club for Growth

• Nancy Boyda (KS-2): Nancy Boyda recently came out in support of the pork-stuffed Iraq supplemental bill, but her campaign website told a different story. Running against Republican Jim Ryun, she wrote “Congress must never waste a single taxpayer dime on needless spending...Wasteful spending has increased exponentially in recent years.” Does Nancy Boyda think $75 million for peanut storage is not a waste of taxpayer dollars?
• Heath Schuler (NC-11): In his race to unseat Republican Representative Charles Taylor, the former football player attacked the incumbent Republican for his “irresponsible” earmarks (Wall Street Journal, 10/11/06) and said that “the people of North Carolina deserve better” (US Fed News Service, 10/11/06). We hope he remembers those words when it comes time to vote on the Iraq spending bill.
• Nick Lampson (TX-22): Nick Lampson campaigned on fiscal responsibility and took a harsh stand against congressional pork on his campaign website: “We have terrible waste in our government that can be addressed right now. We shouldn't be spending on pork projects like bridges to nowhere in Alaska and a tea pot museum in North Carolina. We must set priorities and stick to them.” By that standard, Rep. Lampson should cast a “no” vote on the Iraq war spending bill.
• Tim Mahoney (FL-22): According to his campaign website, Rep. Tim Mahoney campaigned on wide-sweeping ethics reform that included a platform to “Cut the Pork.” Interestingly, the supplemental bill includes money for citrus growers in Rep. Mahoney’s district. Could that possibly have something to do with Tim Mahoney’s support for the Iraq supplemental bill?
• Harry Mitchell (AZ-5): Rep. Mitchell beat the fiscal responsibility drum on his campaign website: “Unfortunately, fiscal irresponsibility and pork-barrel spending has Washington swimming in red ink . . . In Congress, I will promote fiscal policy that is both responsible and accountable, just as I did at the local level.” Now that his own Democratic leadership is the one doing the drowning, will Rep. Mitchell have the courage to just say no?
  

Don't believe everything you read when they're trying to campaign next time. How many times have we been fooled now?

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