Thursday, March 05, 2009

FBI Raids and Allegations of Fraud Are No Reason to Remove Earmarks, Democrats Conclude

Remember that lobbying firm that the FBI raided?

On page A7 of today's Washington Post, we learn:

The Senate approved $10 million in funding yesterday for clients of a now-disbanded lobbying firm [The PMA Group] that is under federal investigation for alleged fraud in political contributions to members of Congress, while approving an additional $16 million for pet projects such as a water-taxi service and manure management.

Rejecting efforts to strip the items, the Senate voted to leave the earmarks in a $410 billion spending bill that will fund most federal agencies through September. The bipartisan votes represent the steep climb that reformers, including President Obama and House Republican leaders, face as they seek to curb earmarks.

Despite the headline "Democrats Stop Effort To Remove Earmarks," you notice that "bipartisan" reference in there. Thankfully, the Washington Post's Paul Kane provides the partisan breakdown of the vote:

On the PMA amendment, 37 Republicans and six Democrats opposed funding the firm's clients, while 48 Democrats, two independents and two Republicans supported the earmarks.

The independents are Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and we know which way they lean. So really, 50 out of 59 Democrat-aligned votes in the Senate voted to keep the earmarks of alleged fraudsters.

03/05 09:10 AMShare