From New York Times:WASHINGTON — In his latest crusade against the process lawmakers use to finance home-state projects known as earmarks, Senator John S. McCain took to the Senate floor this week with an arsenal of numbers, sharply criticizing the $410 billion omnibus spending bill as 2,967 pages of text, teeming with 9,000 earmarks.
But the only numbers that mattered on Tuesday were 63 to 32: the vote by which the Senate defeated Mr. McCain’s amendment to strip the earmarks from the spending measure, which is needed to finance the federal government through September.
While the bill is likely to be approved, the fight over earmarks will not end anytime soon.
The Obama administration and Congressional Democrats, sensitive to accusations that they were allowing earmarks to continue unchecked, are considering ways to adjust the budgeting system, which President Obama has said should be more open and transparent.
“That’s what the White House is working on,” its press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said Tuesday.
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My Comment: While the Democrats represent 60% of earmarks requested .... they are 60% of the Congress.
Sigh .... plague on both parties.
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