|
Congress cowers before reigning King of Pork
In a Congress filled with fiefdoms of special-interest spending, one man is king Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa. In 2008, Murtha earmarked $192 million for his district. Thus far this year, hes only managed to earmark $134 million. But give him time.The jewel in Murthas pork crown is the airport in Johnstown, Pa. That would be the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport. A Washington Post exposé revealed that Murtha has steered more than $200 million in federal funds to his namesake over the past 15 years, including more than $25 million for runways to handle heavy military planes that dont fly there, $8 million for a radar system that isnt used and $800,000 in stimulus funds to repave an alternate runway though the main one sees little traffic. The Murtha airport has only three daily commercial flights all to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. About 30 people use the airport on a daily basis. According to the Post, every flight to and from Murtha receives a federal subsidy of $147 per passenger, twice the national average for the program that supports air transportation to rural communities. Rep. Don Young and former Sen. Ted Stevens, Republicans from Alaska, had funding for their Bridge to Nowhere rescinded before it was built. Murtha actually has an Airport for No One. Last month, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., introduced an amendment that would have prevented any future federal funds from flowing to the airport. If we cannot cut the funding for this little airport in Pennsylvania, named after the congressman that helped get it $200 million, the Post quoted him as saying, if we cannot look at the facts in this particular case, and decide as a Congress to stop this, then there is nothing we can cut here, then there is no such thing as waste. The amendment was defeated when 53 senators, including 51 Democrats, voted against it. A similar measure was defeated earlier in the year in the House along a party line vote, 263-154. Even in the midst of economic hardship, Congress cant muster the courage tell one of its biggest spendthrifts, Enough! And thats one of the major reasons why the public holds the institution in such low esteem. Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC 2009-10-08 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=280605 |