Politicians Turn War Spending Into Pork-Barrel Frenzy
Recently the U.S. Senate began discussion of "emergency spending
legislation" supposedly to continue funding for the U.S.-led air strikes on
Yugoslavia.
In classic fashion, however, the Senate took the opportunity to stick all
sorts of utterly unrelated spending measures onto the bill. The bill quickly
became a bi-partisan pork barrel bonanza, as senators rushed to use the war
legislation to grab goodies for pet constituencies, at taxpayers' expense.
Some examples:
- Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) wanted $1 billion in
guaranteed loans that would benefit just three U.S. steel companies -- one
of which happens to be the Weirton Steel Company in West
Virginia.
- Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), chairman of the Senate Budget
Committee, called for $500 million for oil and gas interests in
the Southwest.
- Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) asked for
for $4.3 billion for Midwestern farmers in the form of crop subsidies
and loan guarantees.
- Senators Bob Graham (D-FL) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
are trying to ensure that states can spend the $246 billion extorted
from tobacco companies last fall on whatever they want -- instead of on
anti-smoking campaigns for young people, as originally promised.
- President Clinton called for up to $1 billion in aid for
Central American victims of Hurricane Mitch, and another $100 million
in foreign aid for Jordan.
"Under the guise of helping the military, opportunistic politicians are helping
themselves by funneling money to their favorite special interest
groups," said Steve Dasbach, national director of the Libertarian Party. "As
this bill proves, war isn't just another government program to Senate
Republicans and Democrats -- it's just another pork-barrel government program.
"This bill demonstrates that for politicians, war is
a four letter word -- spelled P-O-R-K."
(From a Libertarian Party media release)
|
