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From the Washington Post [2], no commentary necessary:
President Obama today announced guidelines aimed at curbing the number
of pet projects in appropriations bills, setting up a potential battle
with lawmakers who have clung to the spending items known as earmarks.
of pet projects in appropriations bills, setting up a potential battle
with lawmakers who have clung to the spending items known as earmarks.
Obama called on Congress to enact a series of reforms that he said
would not eliminate earmarks but would force lawmakers to be more
transparent about them and would crack down on those that benefit
private companies. He said it "should go without saying that an earmark
should never, ever be traded for political favors."
Speaking in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the
White House, Obama said he would sign a $410 billion omnibus spending
bill that was passed by the Senate yesterday, even though it contains
more than 8,500 of the pet projects.