Congress slated $5.6B in bills for private sector

[maddezmom]

Source: USA Today

By Matt Kelley, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Congress steered $5.6 billion to private companies in 2005 — more than state and local governments combined — through its power to add special-interest items to spending bills, a new government database shows.

~snip~

The OMB's database shows about $37 million went to companies involved in the bribery scandal that toppled Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif. Cunningham, a former member of the House Appropriations Committee, is serving an eight-year prison term for taking more than $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors in exchange for directing earmarks to their companies.

Democrats, who regained control of Congress in part because of the Cunningham case and other scandals, promised to cut earmarks in half and identify lawmakers who request them. New rules require members seeking earmarks to certify they don't have any financial interest in the outcome.

One of the entries in the 2005 database is an earmark directing $18 million to defense contractor PerfectWave Technologies. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., has acknowledged he inserted the earmark at the request of Brent Wilkes, the company's owner at the time. Cunningham admitted taking bribes from Wilkes, who has pleaded innocent to pending federal charges.



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-04-25-earmarks-inside_N.htm?csp=34

[cally]

1. Another Doolittle scam

Here's hoping for his resignation soon. :cheers: