Budget Update

AP News Alert:

WASHINGTON (AP) The House has passed a $463.5 billion spending bill funding the budgets of 13 Cabinet departments.

And what about the earmarks?

UPDATE - Guess not...this just in via email:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement today on the Democrats' $463.5 billion spending package. Democrats rejected a Republican amendment that would have stripped approximately $500 million in pork-barrel earmarks from the bill and used the money for military housing, anti-drug efforts, and deficit reduction.

"I have consistently stated that Republicans are eager to work with Democrats for the good of the country we were all elected to serve, but that we will hold them accountable for their promises at the same time. Democrats promised this massive spending bill would be earmark-free, but then gave us a bill that includes hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funding for earmarked pork projects. And it is clear that the best interests of the American people - transparency and accountability - were not a priority for Democrats when they crafted this massive spending bill.

"Republicans offered a common sense proposal to slash hundreds of millions of dollars from earmarks the Democrats overlooked and use those funds to pay for critically-needed housing for military families, to restore funding for the fight against methamphetamine abuse, and to reduce the federal budget deficit. It is unfortunate Democrats decided to break their pledge on earmarks at the expense of these higher priorities. The majority's decision is out of step with the priorities of the American people."

More smoke and mirrors from the Party of Love and Taxes...

UPDATE 2 - Congressional Democrats are a lot like the blonde in this commercial when it comes to this issue...



Allow me to explain it to some of the liberals in our audience... :)

You see, the blonde doesn't realize that what she is doing is stupid. She thinks if she puts in her order quietly, nobody will notice how stupid she is being...

UPDATE 3 - 2/1/07 - PR/US Newswire:

House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) today cast his vote in favor of cutting more than $500 million in earmarks hidden in the Democrats' massive omnibus spending measure. Blunt supports using those funds to reduce the deficit, maintain America's military and fight crimes related to methamphetamines, priorities which lose funding under the Democrats' plan.

"Despite claims to the contrary, this massive spending measure includes $500 million in earmarks cleverly hidden from view," Blunt said. "These earmarks may be invisible, but they're still expensive -- and they come at a cost that I cannot support."

"Our plan would have used these stealth earmarks to fund priorities that the Democrats cut in their proposal: deficit reduction, housing for our military families and fighting and winning the war on methamphetamines in our communities," Blunt continued.

The Democrats' $463.5 billion spending measure includes:

-- $44.6 million for the rain forest in central Iowa;
-- $94 million in funding for the Denali Commission in Alaska;
-- $400 million in ongoing projects under the Energy and Water
Subcommittee's jurisdiction; and
-- $49.7 million for the Department of Energy's Fossil Energy Account.