Democrats go hog wild on pork spending

Tony Phyrillas

As most of you already know, the House of Representatives voted 218-212 to surrender to America's enemies by requiring a pullout of most U.S. forces from Iraq beginning in March 2008. The cut-and-run strategy would be completed by August 2008.

Nearly all Congressional Democrats fell in line with party leaders Nancy Pelosi and John Murtha in raising the white flag.

The Democratic members of Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation -- Jason Altmire, Bob Brady, Chris Carney, Mike Doyle, Chaka Fattah, Tim Holden, Patrick Murphy, John Murtha, Allyson Schwartz and Joe Sestak -- all voted to retreat from Iraq.

Pennsylvania's Republican Congressional delegation -- Phil English, John Peterson, Joe Pitts, Bill Shuster, Todd Platts, Jim Gerlach, Tim Murphy and Charlie Dent -- stood by our troops by opposing the Democrats' surrender plan.

What you may not know is that Democrats attached $24 billion in unrelated, non-emergency spending to the $100 billion supplemental spending on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This bill (HR 1591) is fiscally irresponsible and constitutionally flawed," Republican Congressman Joe Pitts said. "If Democrats really want to support our troops, they should offer a clean bill that provides the funding needed to achieve victory. Instead, this legislation defies the Constitution by seeking to micromanage the war, and insults the taxpayer by using our troops as leverage for billions of dollars in pork spending."

Some examples of wasteful spending included in the Democrats' "Pork and Retreat" bill:

· Spinach: Provides $25 million for payments to spinach producers that were unable to market spinach crops as a result of the FDA Public Health Advisory issued on Sept. 14, 2006.

· Shrimp: Provides $120 million to the shrimp industry for expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane Katrina.

· Peanut Storage Subsidies: Provides $74 million to extend peanut storage payments through 2007. The Peanut Subsidy Storage program, which is set to expire this year, pays farmers for the storage, handling, and other costs for peanuts voluntarily placed in the marketing loan program.

· Aquaculture Operations: Provides $5 million for payments to "aquaculture operations and other persons in the U.S. engaged in the business of breeding, rearing, or transporting live fish" (such as shellfish, oysters and clams) to cover economic losses incurred as a result of an emergency order issued by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on Oct. 24, 2006.

· NASA: Provides $35 million to NASA, under the "exploration capabilities" account, for "expenses related to the consequences of Hurricane Katrina."

· HUD Indian Housing: Provides $80 million in tenant-based rental assistance for public and Indian housing under HUD.

So much for looking out for working Americans. So much for doing something about the federal deficit. So much for "draining the swamp" of corruption. You're probably kicking yourself right about now for falling for the Democratic Party's lies.

Nothing has changed in Washington since the November 2006 elections except that Democrats (instead of Republicans) are now wasting our tax dollars.

Well, one thing did change. Democrats informed our enemies when to expect the U.S. to run from the battlefield. Terrorists just have to bide their time until next year. And they can keep their fingers crossed that a Democrat will win the White House in 2008 so the terrorists' victory can be complete.

Tony Phyrillas is a columnist for The Mercury in Pottstown, Pa.