| WASHINGTON
- November 17 - Over the eight years of Republican control of the House of Representatives,
"pork barrel" spending, congressionally earmarked funds that Republicans
campaigned against and promised to end, has increased exponentially. The Republicans
campaigned against earmarked funds in 1994, but "they have actually taken
the practice to levels that Democrats never imagined," according to a report
by the House Appropriations Committee Minority Staff. The
analysis also documents that, "Not only have they (the Republican House leadership)
dramatically increased the number of earmarks in virtually every area of government,
they have opened up broad new areas of government to the practice of earmarking."
The report shows
that earmarked projects and funds flowing to particular states and Districts at
the request of individual Members of the House and Senate doubled and, in some
cases, more than tripled between fiscal years 1995, the last year under Democratic
House leadership, and 2003. Defense
Appropriations O&M Procurement R&D Fiscal
Year 1995 33 projects 55 219 projects totaling $1.1 billion Fiscal
Year 2003 232 projects 285 1,299 projects totaling $4.4 billion
Transportation-Treasury
Fiscal Year
1995 322 projects totaling $1.5 billion Fiscal
Year 2003 1,818 projects totaling $3.9 billion VA-HUD
Fiscal Year 1995
26 pages of earmarks Fiscal
Year 2003 89 pages NASA
Fiscal Year 1995
2 projects totaling $48 million Fiscal
Year 2003 104 projects totaling $254 million Commerce-State-Justice
Fiscal Year
1995 45 projects totaling $104 million Fiscal
Year 2003 966 projects totaling $1.04 billion Labor,
H&HS, Education Fiscal
Year 1995 $0 Fiscal
Year 1996 $33 million Fiscal
Year 2004 $1 billion Newt
Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, promised that the Republican takeover in
1995, "would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and
too easy with the public's money," the Appropriations Committee Minority
report notes. Under Republican leadership, earmarked spending has seen unprecedented
increases, and since Republicans have controlled the White House, the House of
Representatives and the Senate, the federal government has created the largest
new federal agency since the Department of Defense was established 50 years ago,
passed the Patriot Act, resulting in bipartisan concern about government snooping,
and run up the largest budget deficit in American history. The
Report is available at http://www.house.gov/appropriations_democrats/ ### | 
