Barack Obama tried to outdo John McCain on porkbusting during the general election campaign in 2008, promising to use his veto pen as often as possible to end earmar abuse by Congress. What kind of grade should Obama get for 2009 on pork? While Obama gives himself a “good, solid B-plus” overall, one long-time critic of Congressional earmarking gives Obama a failing grade. And that doesn’t come from McCain, but from one of Obama’s former Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill:
Fiscal hawks in Congress say President Barack Obama hasn’t followed through on a pledge to lower federal spending on local projects.
Earmarks are expected to total nearly $12 billion in fiscal 2010, according to fiscal watchdog groups. While that number is less than the $15 billion total in 2009, lawmakers from both parties said Obama hasn’t kept up the kind of pressure he showed during his first weeks in office or that he promised as a candidate.
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) said Obama made earmark reform “a very big part of [his] campaign” but still signed this month two massive spending measures that both included approximately $4 billion in earmarks.
Feingold, who broke with his party to oppose both the $447 billion 2010 omnibus spending bill and the $636 billion 2010 Pentagon spending bill, said the president could have used his veto pen to reject the measures and force lawmakers to cut earmark funding. READ MORE...
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