Defense appropriations bill’s earmarks

Here’s a fun way to find out how much pork Congressional reps are trying to bring to their districts: Check out this super-cool tool created by the Sunlight Foundation which allows you to view earmarks which are buried within the House’s defense appropriations bill using Google Earth (h/t: Robert Bluey).

And speaking of pork …

Related: The USA Today reports that some of our elected reps in Congress have been been personally benefiting from farm subsidies since 1995:

WASHINGTON — When the bill that would extend farm subsidies for five years goes to the Senate floor this week, eight senators will have special reason to pay close attention: They or their relatives collected about $3 million in federal payments from 1995 to 2005, according to government records compiled by a non-partisan environmental group.

They join four House members in a small group of lawmakers connected to farming operations that received a total of $6.2 million in subsidies over that period. Many say their experience with the programs has given them valuable insight into the issue.

Yeah, I’ll bet.

“Without these programs, there are some years that we would have been in very, very dire straights,” said Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat elected last year who farms 1,800 acres. Along with his wife, he received about $232,000 from 1995-2005, according to Department of Agriculture records gathered by the Environmental Working Group.

Congressional ethics rules allow members who get farm subsidies to vote on the bills that authorize them, on the grounds that the bills affect a general class of people. Some see a problem with that.

“Just because it’s not a conflict of interest under the rules doesn’t mean it isn’t a conflict to a regular person looking at it,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the non-partisan Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. At the least, Sloan said, lawmakers should be required to publicly disclose when they vote to benefit themselves or their families as part of a small group.

You can view a list of the payments made to reps and/or their families here.

Still more: Make sure to check out WTOP’s series on Congressional perks. Start here with part 1, and scroll to the lower side of the left column to see links to other parts of the series, including audio (via James Taranto).