Missouri earmarks escape McCain’s wrath
Sen. McCain
WASHINGTON — That $1.5 million for technology upgrades at North Central Missouri College in Trenton, engineered by Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, is safe.
So is the $1.2 million for the interoperable mobile data communications system sought by Rep. Sam Graves and the $143,000 that Rep. Roy Blunt secured for building digital collections at Missouri State University.
Those projects are nearly in the bag now that the Senate has rejected an effort by Sen. John McCain to strip out more than 8,500 earmarks from the mammoth omnibus spending proposal headed toward passage in the Senate.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who doesn’t care much for earmarks, voted with McCain, a Republican. Bond voted against McCain’s proposal.
McCain has been on an anti-earmarks terror in the Senate. Yesterday, he referred to earmarks as “disgraceful” and “an outrageous insult” to taxpayers.
“I’m hoping the American people will rise up,” he said.
But rather than rise up, senators today voted down McCain’s anti-earmarks amendment 63-32.
For Missouri, there are too many earmarks to include in this space. But here, in no particular order, are a few we noticed while scanning an earmarks list: (if you want to digest the list for the entire nation, set aside a couple of hours.)
– $950,000 for the Missouri Transit Institute.
– $300,000 for the University of Missouri’s Woody Biomass Demonstration Project;
– $200,000 to study crops and aquaculture loss in SE Missouri;
– $950,000 for a Biotech Mobile Workforce Development Center in St. Joseph;
– $238,000 for a University of Missouri Telehealth Resources Center;
–$700,000 for police automated field reporting in Springfield;
–$800,000 for equipment for an emergency operations center in Greene County;
–$1.25 million for the Missouri Criminal Justice Information System in Jefferson City;
– $1 million for the Ozark Foothills Visual Intelligence Tool for southern Missouri law enforcement.
Interesting that most of those earmarks are for Republican dominated areas in the state and that the two people mentioned in the article are both Missouri Republicans.
We have a record number of people unemployed, unable to pay their bills, unable to afford to even see their Doctor and we waste money on this sort of B.S.???? McCain is right, this is an insult, both to our intelligence and our taxes that go to pay for these pork projects………..
“visual intelligence tool”…that’s a camera, right?
It’s too funny, the Republicans all complained about the Stimulas Package and voted No, but back home its the Republicans who not only are fighting for the almighty free tax payer dollar, and looks like they have their hands out first! and getting the most… Republicans talk out of both sides of their mouths.
What a surprise. Senator Bond has always prided himself in bringing in the earmarks. Now Roy Blunt, who is up to his neck in earmark projects wants to run for Bond’s seat in the Senate. It’s the same old, same old.
I would not vote for Bond again had he chosen to run. I will not vote for Blunt even in a primary. These people don’t get it. We have no money and they continue to spend more and more. They’re all idiots.
Who cares? It’s all political. The people we put in DC have no clue as to how “normal” folks are living. They do absolutely nothing to earn taxpayer dollars or the borrowed money that they are spending. Their salaries, healthcare, and retirement is going to be paid by we the people and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
This measure was defeated with 63 votes. I don’t know the breakdown, but both parties had to have voted the same to garner 63 votes. That means NEITHER party gets it. Throw them all out.
that is right, they are out of touch. i’m a dem. but i think the money should be bridges, roads, dams, etc. launching ramps at rivers, lakes, our parks were closed down at current river. get these things up and going.
There is a revolution calling you..
Drill Baby Drill