Friday, October 16, 2009

Defense Funds Siphoned Off For 'Pet Projects' ('Pork') to The Tune of $2.6 Billion

Pork barrel spending is bad enough by itself, but when it comes at the expense of our fighting men and women ,it is down right sickening. Around $2.6 billion was Siphoned off from defense funds for pet projects. The diverted money comes at the expense of training for our troops.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/15/troop-funds-diverted-to-pet-projects

"Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.
...
While earmarks are hardly new in Washington, "in 30 years on Capitol Hill, I never saw Congress mangle the defense budget as badly as this year," said Winslow Wheeler, a former Senate staffer who worked on defense funding and oversight for both Republicans and Democrats. He is now a senior fellow at the Center for Defense Information, an independent research organization.

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, called the transfer of funds from Pentagon operations and maintenance "a disgrace."

"The Senate is putting favorable headlines back home above our men and women fighting on the front lines," he said in a statement.
"

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Like what you read; Subscribe/Fan/Follow