Tight Budget? has plenty of special interests in $388B spending bill..

[shuffnew]

Now, do we understand the wayward votes on the $388B spending bill??... many special interest items tucked into it with apparently the Alabama Rep. getting the most for his lobbyists of special interest groups (this also helps us to understand why some unexpected reps voted for or against the bill - special interests likely being one of the biggies):

<execerpt> "Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican who serves on the Appropriations Committee, won dozens of special items for his state, enough to fill 20 news releases. "

Tight Budget Has Room for Special Projects

By SHARON THEIMER
WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite soaring deficits, the government spending plan awaiting President Bush's signature is chock-full of special items for industries and communities. Consider $443,000 to develop salmon-fortified baby food, or $350,000 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/news/story.jsp?&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20041123%2F1601625367.htm&sc=1153&photoid=20041123WX101

[rkc3]

1. There were over 11,000 special interest items mentioned on NPR.

Among them, $325,000 to protect North Dakota sunflowers from Blackbirds and another $250,000 to study catfish.

My head. It is all hurty now.

[tk2kewl]

2. not surprising

comapring the numbers for projects around my home Long Island:


positive social funds:
$525,000 for several anti-gang programs
$250,000 for Family Center
$125,000 to replace older vans in Brookhaven Town's senior jitney fleet


$1.4 million to study Fire Island erosion (where wealthy folk have oceanfront homes on a NAtional Seashore)

One up side is there is a lot of funding (but not enough) for public transit projects