INSIDE WASHINGTON: Pricey bus test a bust

It seemed like a good idea, perhaps one that could be emulated nationwide: a fleet of electric buses to ease congestion in one of Washington's traffic-choked suburbs in an environmentally friendly way.

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Analysis: Obama stands with his allies, of course

In proposing only modest changes in how lawmakers finance their pet projects, President Barack Obama tossed aside a golden opportunity to work with Sen. John McCain. Instead, the president stood foursquare with his Democratic allies, the people he needs most to advance his ambitious agenda.

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Lawmakers defend attacks against pet projects

The idea of devoting $1.8 million to research controlling the smell of pig dung stinks to high heaven to opponents of Congress' proclivity for pork-barrel projects.

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THE INFLUENCE GAME: Lobbyists defend earmarks

What's it like to be at Washington's political ground zero? Ask Dave Wenhold, who trudges to work with two bull's-eyes pinned to his back.

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Obama vows to keep pet projects out

President-elect Barack Obama is again vowing to keep "earmarks and pet projects" out of an economic recovery plan.

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Palin's pork requests confound reformer image

John McCain touts Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a force in the his battle against earmarks and entrenched power brokers, but under her leadership the state this year asked for almost $300 per person in requests for pet projects from one of McCain's top adversaries: indicted Sen. Ted Stevens.

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Making the case to Congress for your pet project

If you're a company, nonprofit group, university, hospital or local government and you want Congress to bestow federal dollars on your efforts, how do you go about it?

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'Pig book' puts pet spending in spotlight

WASHINGTON - It’s a barrel of “pork” worth some $17.2 billion.

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Roll Vote: Proposal on Pet Projects Ban

The 71-29 roll call by which the Senate on Thursday rejected a proposed one-year ban on lawmakers' home-state pet projects.

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Super Tuesday Pork

A small sampling of federal money recently sought by lawmakers for projects in states holding presidential nominating contests Tuesday.

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More Lawmakers Give Up Earmarks

A growing number of lawmakers in Congress are voluntarily giving up one of the biggest perks of office — at the risk of alienating their constituents.

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Bush Wants Pet Projects Reviewed

President Bush complained Thursday about thousands of pet projects Congress sent to him in a just-passed spending bill and asked his budget director for ideas for what to do with them.

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I call it the ATM of the Treasury and am often amazed at what our politicians will spend and what they spend it on. Imagine $440,000 for elevator conductors in a full service elevator!

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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.

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Before everyone dismisses this as a Heritage article - read it. The waste cuts across both sides of the aisle. In the race to spend money on earmarks the Republicans and the Democrats are neck-and-neck. This article points out waste and misuse of OUR money.

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Wonder if memorial will have a bridge in it?

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In the fiscal 2010 bills these earmarks will not have to be competitively bid, following the Senate policy. In Your "representatives" at work.

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excerpt: "" As it turns out, Palin's Alaska is one of the greatest beneficiaries of "red state socialism," the massive one-way flow of federal tax dollars from Washington to Republican states.

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Members of Congress defend earmarks as federal funds they need for projects that will help their local districts.

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With Washington bleeding green, Congress' princes of pork are treating taxpayers like a giant ATM and racking up billions in earmarks for pet projects like a supercomputer that studies fruit flies, a trolley museum in Pennsylvania and a biotech association that doesn't even exist …

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The cost of earmarks increased this year despite lawmakers' claims they're working to reduce pork-barrel spending.

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Comparing FY 2008 and FY 2009 lists of entities that lobby and garner earmarks is made virtually impossible by the lack of Congressional transparency regarding the recipient of defense earmark spending.

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The unwanted equipment in a military spending bill expected to come to a vote on the House floor Thursday or Friday has a price tag of at least $6.9 billion.

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The Air Force project was supposed to research new battlefield technologies, and Murtha pushed millions of taxpayer dollars into the program to hire defense contractors.

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The House ethics committee has announced that it is investigating the links between earmarks and campaign contributions, but if investigators are looking at any activity prior to 2007, they could run into a problem: The documents underlying those earmarks may have been destroyed.

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"The tiny mouse that became a hotly disputed symbol of wasteful spending in the congressional debate over the $787 billion economic stimulus bill has returned to pester House Speaker Nancy Pelosi."

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In conclusion, a review of the Board of Trustees at Notre Dame does NOT reveal a particularly strong Catholic identity. There are board members whose actions and associations put them in a position directly at odds with Church teaching and in line with the Obama administration.

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Barack Obama celebrates the hundredth day of his Presidency today. Liberals say he's doing a bang up-job. Conservatives contend it's been 100 days of absolute horror.

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The federal raid on a high-flying firm of defense lobbyists has prompted a few brave Democrats to propose the ultimate reform — an outright ban on the practice of lawmakers' customizing budget goodies for contractors who requite with generous campaign donations.

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If you are one of the few who are planning for a summer vacation this year and want to leave the hustle and bustle and crowds behind then check out this site located in the middle of nowhere. Amenities include a $2.5M terminal, $5M state of the art traffic control tower (never u …

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Summary: The Washington Times falsely claimed in an editorial that President Obama "reneged" on campaign promises to eliminate earmarks and increase defense spending. In fact, Obama did not promise to eliminate earmarks, and he did propose a budget increasing defense spending.

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LegiStorm is a free, searchable database of US Congressional Salaries,Staff salaries,Foreign Gifts and Earmarks,Financial Disclosures and Trips. LegiStorm touts itself as bringing transparency to the U.S. Congress...

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WASHINGTON — Dozens of Oklahoma earmarked projects in the massive spending bill signed by President Barack Obama last week can be directly traced to lobbyists, according to an analysis by The Oklahoman.

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Sarah Palin's office moved fast last week to protect her (self-proclaimed) standing as a scourge of earmarks.

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No matter how we slice and dice the data related to contributions from embattled lobbying firm PMA Group and its clients, Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.), chair of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, remains at or near the top of the recipient list, along with Reps.

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