EDITORIAL: Democrats Have Done Little to Reform Earmarks

The party of “change,” as it turns out, has done little to advance the cause of reform when it comes to military earmarks and political back-scratching.

The Center for Public Integrity looked at the awarding of defense contracts and found this: “… former staf-fers [for representatives in Congress] became lobbyists for defense contractors; the contractors received earmarks from the representatives; and the representatives received campaign contributions from the lobbyists or the contractors.”

The computer-generated analysis found that 10 out of 16 members of the House subcommittee on defense appropriations obtained 30 earmarks in this manner, amounting to $103 million, in the appropriations bill passed in July.

Read more:

(Editorial, “The Circular Flow of Money,” The Daily Progress, 10/19/09)