Published time: October 17, 2013 16:50
AFP Photo / Jewel Samad
Congress passed legislation reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling on Wednesday, but the bill also contained several provisions that set money aside for special projects.
Chief among them is language that authorizes about $2.9 billion
in funding for a floundering dam project that is partly in
Kentucky, the home state of Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell. McConnell helped broker the budget deal with Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
The bill also provides cash infusions to help military veterans
speed up their claims for health benefits, in addition to flood
relief, firefighting efforts and a payment to a late senator’s
widow.
These kinds of payments are usually worked out during formal
budget negotiations, but, as Reuters noted, “Such stop-gap
funding measures often include so-called ‘anomalies’ to address
special needs.”
The Kentucky dam project, in particular, has come under scrutiny
by conservative groups and even some senators, who see it as a
ploy to use a federal emergency as a way to fund special projects
at taxpayers’ expense. The original project was approved decades
ago for $775 million, but has since suffered setbacks and gone
significantly over budget.
“In exchange for funding Obamacare and raising the debt limit,
Mitch McConnell has secured a $2 billion earmark,” the Senate
Conservatives Fund, an outside group that may back McConnell’s
primary opponent, wrote in a blog post. “This is an insult to
all the Kentucky families who don’t want to pay for Obamacare and
don’t want to shoulder any more debt.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also criticized the appropriation as
“ridiculous.”
“These people are like alcoholics. They can’t resist taking a
drink. It’s ridiculous. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” McCain
said to the Daily Beast. “It shows that there are people in
this body who are willing to use any occasion to get an
outrageous pork-barrel project done at the cost of millions and
millions of dollars. It’s disgusting.”
Despite the location of the project, McConnell’s office was quick
to note that the minority leader didn’t actually push for the
provision himself. The language, supported by the White House,
was suggested and authored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who said that it will ultimately
save taxpayers money.
“According to the Army Corps of Engineers, 160 million
taxpayer dollars will be wasted because of canceled contracts if
this language is not included,” Alexander told BuzzFeed.
“Sen. [Diane] Feinstein and I, as chairman and ranking member
of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, requested
this provision. It has already been approved this year by the
House and Senate.”
Aside from the dam project, Congress approved $450 million in
flood relief to help Colorado rebuild areas that were damaged
earlier this year. More than $600 million was set aside for
fighting wildfires in California and other western states, and,
according to CNN, a watchdog group that fights for Americans’
privacy rights in the face of government espionage will find a
check for $3.1 million.
Meanwhile, the Veterans Administration will receive about $2.4
billion to help a backlog of veterans finally collect health
insurance and other benefits. Some soldiers have been stuck
waiting for years.
Congress also authorized a payment of $174,000 to Bonnie
Lautenberg, the widow of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who
passed away earlier this year. Lautenberg was worth nearly $60
million, but Senate tradition typically involves providing
families the equivalent of a senator’s annual salary.
Copyright: RT