Critics question Obama's pledge to end 'pork'

[6 Shooter]

As a spending bill loaded with pork makes its way through Congress, President Obama is getting pushback from members of his own party who are questioning his vow to end wasteful spending.

The president on Wednesday pledged turn tide on an "era of fiscal irresponsibility," reiterating his campaign promise that the days of "pork ... as a strategy" are over.

And in a prime-time address before a joint session of Congress, Obama last week praised the $787 billion stimulus package signed into law, telling the nation, "I'm proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks, and I want to pass a budget next year that ensures that each dollar we spend reflects only our most important national priorities."

But some in the audience found that hard to swallow.

"There was just a roar of laughter -- because there were earmarks," said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri.

Earmarks, sometimes called "pork," are unrelated pet projects that members of Congress insert in spending bills. Watch more on the earmarks in the bill »

The scoffing continues as the president hammers away at reducing wasteful spending and saving taxpayers money while lawmakers on Capitol Hill load up a spending bill with more than 8,000 earmarks totaling nearly $8 billion.

The legislation in question is a $410 billion omnibus bill that would keep the federal government running through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in September 2009.

According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group that monitors government spending, the bill includes:

Nearly $1.8 million for pig odor research in Iowa

$950,000 for a convention center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

$143,000 for a natural history museum in Las Vegas

$238,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii

About 60 percent of the earmarks are from Democrats, and about 40 percent are from Republicans, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.

CNN.com Article

[vett boy]

Same old crap ,just more of it .

[keebs]

Call me if you think that Pork spending will be ending anytime soon. These idiots are addicted to wasting our money. In Detroit our idiot Senator Levin (D) set aside $3.8 million dollars to save Tiger Stadium. Only problem is that Tiger stadium was knocked over last year. All that is left is the dug outs and the field.

For 10 years a group tried to get investors to put up the money to "redevelop" the stadium and no one could come up with a plan that made economic sense. Glad to see that economics did not get in the way of government spending.