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Editorial: Don't keep public in dark on pork
Atlanta Journal Constitution
September 1, 2006
U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), his name forever linked to the boondoggle known as Alaska's "bridge to nowhere," loves to dip his fingers into the federal cookie jar and dole out millions of taxpayer dollars to his favorite causes.
In fact, Stevens has so distinguished himself in that regard that he is now considered the reigning King of Pork, exceeding even his Democratic counterpart, U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
Last year, for example, Stevens threw a hissy fit, threatening to resign, if fellow senators stripped out his infamous $223 million earmark to build a bridge to an Alaskan island with a population of 50 people. In the end, while the specific appropriation was removed, Alaska was given $223 million to spend as it wished.
However, that sweet little system is now being threatened by a bill to create a computer database enabling anyone with computer access to track congressional spending. The measure would provide a much-needed check against abuses that allow Stevens and other lawmakers to conceal their pet projects, or earmarks, within the fine print of larger spending bills. The bill is bipartisan, co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), and it was moving swiftly toward passage until somebody in the Senate put a secret "hold" on the bill, which keeps senators from bringing it up for a vote.
This week, Stevens was outed as the senator who had issued that hold. (As it turns out, Byrd had issued a hold on the bill as well, but he withdrew it Thursday under pressure from colleagues.)
Stevens tries to justify his action by claiming that he's concerned about the cost of the database, estimated at a whopping $15 million from 2007-2011.
That's ridiculous. Republican leaders ought to shame and pressure Stevens into ending his hold. It is incomprehensible that Congress would continue to deny the American people the right to know how their money is spent.
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