appropriations news stories on Newser

House Bill Loaded With $6.5B the Pentagon Doesn't Want

Kevin Spak — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:30:02 CDT

They gave up on the F22, but Congress is still trying to give the Pentagon $6.9 billion in planes, helicopters and ships the Defense secretary doesn’t want, the Washington Post reports. House Democrats have loaded the defense spending bill with earmarks for programs Barack Obama and Robert Gates have...

Pentagon Gives $4M in No-Bid Contracts to Murtha Nephew

Gabriel Winant — Tue, 05 May 2009 08:35:35 CDT

It can be hard for a defense contractor to be related to a powerful legislator with hands on the military’s purse strings. Just ask Robert Murtha, nephew of Democrat John Murtha, and chief of Murtech—everyone assumes that his success is his uncle’s work. Today, the Washington Post reports that...

On Gitmo, Obama Has a NIMBY Problem

Gabriel Winant — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:01:14 CDT

President Obama has ordered that Guantanamo be closed by the end of the year, but finding a place for the prisoners the administration can neither try nor export is turning into a political nightmare. A Pentagon request for $50 million to relocate the prisoners is running into crossfire in Congress,...

Congress Passes Stopgap Bill to Avoid Shutdown

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:54:09 CST

With a $410 billion catchall spending bill stalled in the Senate and a midnight deadline looming, Congress rushed through stopgap legislation today to keep the government running for another five days. With most Republicans denouncing the bill as too costly and a few Democrats opposing it as well, Majority Leader...

Angry McCain Slams Obama Over Earmarks

Kevin Spak — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:18:48 CST

Democrats were hoping they could sneak the $410 billion omnibus spending bill from last fall quietly through the Senate and onto the president’s desk, to make way for the 2010 budget. But John McCain is having none of it. “If it seems like I’m angry, it’s because I am,” McCain...

Bush Blames Pork for Spending Veto

Jonas Oransky — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:17:03 CST

President Bush vetoed a $606 billion domestic spending bill today, accusing Congress of “acting like a teenager with a new credit card.” His rejection of the measure, which included education, health, and job-training funds, will likely lead to a showdown, the Los Angeles Times reports. The House appropriations chair called...

Earmarks Are Weapons in House Spat

Peter Fearon — Fri, 18 May 2007 06:38:33 CDT

Rep. John Murtha, the pugnacious Democratic chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, is accused of breaking House rules by threatening to withhold future spending from a GOP member with whom he had a disagreement. Politico reports that Rep. Mike Rogers is calling for a House vote to reprimand Murtha.