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CFA to Rate DeMint Amendment Striking Funding for Murtha "Air-Pork"
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 1:58 PM
Not too long ago, the controversy over John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport about two hours East of Pittsburgh flared up when it was one of the first airports in the country to receive "stimulus" funding: $800,000 to repave a backup runway.
Sen. Jim DeMint is now taking on what is one of the most well-known earmarks, and has dropped an amendment to the THUD appropriations bill that would strike funding for the King-of-Pork Airport that sees a full three (!) commercial flights a day carrying no more than twenty passengers. And just so nobody can say this would be unsafe to do, funding for air traffic control operations is excluded - but what would end is the "monument-to-me" shenanigans.
Says Sen. DeMint:
This is a test to see how serious we are about stopping wasteful spending. If we can’t stop this ridiculous abuse of taxpayer funds for a deserted airport, we can’t stop anything,” said Senator DeMint. “Hundreds of thousands of Americans just marched on Washington to protest out-of-control spending and debt. Millions of Americans are speaking out, but are we listening? This airport -- where the staff and taxpayer-funded buildings outnumber the passengers -- is a national embarrassment.
CFA agrees, and we will be rating a vote for the amendment, which may occur as early as this afternoon, in our annual Congressionl ratings. For our vote alert, click here.
Reader Comments:
THIS IS WHY WE NEED TERM LIMITS. If we didn't have Murtha worrying about getting re-elected for the fat he brings home to the district every year, we wouldn't be watching our money trickling to greedy interest groups and useless monuments officials erect to themselves. Disgusting!
Carol / Your Location
Stop waste fraud and abuse of our tax dollars, politician power grabs and illegal activity with-in our government, inact term limits NOW.
Jim Shaw / 99004
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