A sailor salutes the American flag on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis as the ship departs San Diego, Calif., Aug. 28, 2007, to return to its homeport of Bremerton, Wash. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Paul J. Perkins.
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Bacon bounces back, say watchdog groups
By: News Bites | Submitted on: 07/03/08(SGT NEWS BITE) - After fizzling in the wake of congressional scandals over the misuse of earmarks before the 2006 midterm elections, the number and dollar amount of pork-barrel projects have increased so far this year, according to budget watchdog groups.
This year's defense authorization bills in the House contained earmarks worth $9.9 billion, an increase of 29 percent from last year, according to an analysis by Taxpayers for Common Sense. In the Senate version of the bills, the number of earmarks increased 40 percent from last year but the dollar amount fell slightly.
Earmarks in the House version of the labor, health and human services appropriations bills for the 2009 fiscal year soared to $618.8 million from $277.9 million in the 2008 bill, according to Citizens Against Government Waste.
This year's defense authorization bills in the House contained earmarks worth $9.9 billion, an increase of 29 percent from last year, according to an analysis by Taxpayers for Common Sense. In the Senate version of the bills, the number of earmarks increased 40 percent from last year but the dollar amount fell slightly.
Earmarks in the House version of the labor, health and human services appropriations bills for the 2009 fiscal year soared to $618.8 million from $277.9 million in the 2008 bill, according to Citizens Against Government Waste.
News Bites are short one or two paragraph excerpts of external news articles with links to the original source.
