"What is most troubling is how some of the federal agencies will distribute the massive amounts of funding provided for in this bill," said Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., on the floor of the House. "For instance, agencies will use funding in the House-passed bill for these endeavors: $30 million for salt marsh harvest mouse habitation restoration in the San Francisco Bay; $8 to $10 million for oyster restoration in the Gulf of Mexico; $600 million for the acquisition of plug-in vehicles, which are not made or currently available in the United States. Sadly, the list goes on and on."
An ABC News report looked at the bill and noticed other line items that look suspiciously like earmarks, citing, "$1 billion for a zero- emission plant in Illinois, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects and, while not explicitly named, a Los Angeles-to-Las Vegas Magves magnetic levitation rail line that Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., backs." In a Houston Chronicle editorial, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, called H.R. 1 "a Trojan horse for billions of dollars in pork barrel spending. Democrats have said repeatedly that there is not a single earmark in this bill. In fact, the stimulus bill itself is one giant earmark, a massive collection of unnecessary spending, pet projects and kickbacks to well-heeled contributors." Even Democrats, as WND has reported, have conceded the presence of pork in the stimulus package. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., took it upon himself to speak for the American people, boldly declaring that, when it comes to pork, "the American people really don't care." Obama's captured YouTube comments also promise, "When there's a bill then ends up on my desk as president, you the public will have five days to look online and find out what's in it before I sign it, so that you know what your government is doing." The Senate, however, approved the bill to be placed on the president's desk last night; and according to a Fox News report, a Democratic official leaked Obama's plans to sign the bill into law on Tuesday, giving the American public less than four full days – and two of those days over the weekend – to review the bill. http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=88931 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
