DEFENSE SPENDING AND DEFENSE PRIORITIES
For Immediate Release
Thursday, Jul 20, 2006
Washington, D.C.- Today Senator John McCain spoke on the United States Senate Floor regarding the Defense Appropriations Bill, and made the following remarks:
Let me begin by expressing my admiration for the distinguished managers of the Defense Appropriations Bill, Senator Inouye and Senator Stevens. Let me also state from the outset that my remarks are not intended to imply that the Defense Appropriations Bill has more add-ons or "pork" than the Defense Authorization Bill.
....snip:
Money for Holidays and Sports
What is the status of the various proposals for spending money on holidays and sports? What does defense have to do with spending $6 million on the World University Games?
Why is defense spending $2 million on the Olympic Games in Atlanta that will not even be held until 1996? Why should defense spend $9 million for World Cup USA? Have we replaced the bomber and missile gaps with some new sports gap, and an athletic threat that we are not yet aware of?
http://mccain.senate.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=Newscenter.ViewSpeech&Content_id=1951I picked this up from fedblog:McCain Hits Control-C "Today Senator John McCain spoke on the United States Senate floor regarding the Defense Appropriations Bill," reads a press release issued by the senator's office yesterday. At first glance, the statement has a familiar ring to it: it's another of McCain's trademark diatribes against pork-barrel spending.
At second glance, though, the statement starts to look really familiar. "Why is Defense spending $2 million on the Olympic Games in Atlanta that will not even be held until 1996?" McCain asks. "Why should defense spend $9 million for World Cup USA?" A look back at the beginning of the statement and it becomes clear: "I have ... reviewed the Senate version of the 1993 Defense Appropriations Act, and I have found a number of areas that seem to turn a silk purse into a sow's ear," he says.
I know that McCain's line on pork spending hasn't changed much over the years, but his staff might want to be a little more careful with the cutting and pasting in the future.
http://www.govexec.com/fedblog/#1756