27 Jun, 2007
Earmarks in the Amnesty Bill: Trading Votes for Pork
Posted by: Rob Bluey In: Capitol Hill
There are all sorts of goodies in Sen. Harry Reid’s clay pigeon amendment, but two pork projects — one in Utah and the other in Alaska — stand out. Why? Three of the senators who would benefit from the earmarks voted in favor of cloture yesterday.
Let’s begin in Utah, where Republican Sen. Bob Bennett would get a satellite U.S. attorney office in St. George, Utah. “The primary function of the satellite office shall be to prosecute and deter criminal activities associated with illegal immigrants,” reads the amendment. By the way, it’s not the only government office in St. George. Bennett has a district office there, too.
Then there’s the new Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, which, according to Reid’s amendment, would be located “within the vicinity of the intersection U.S. Highway 191 and U.S. Highway 491 to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants into the interior of the United States.” The language doesn’t identify where that intersection is located, so I looked it up. Sure enough, it’s Monticello, Utah.
If those projects in Utah aren’t enough to raise your suspicion, then there’s always Alaska to suit your fancy. Although it’s separated from the continental United States, Alaska’s pork-loving Republican senators, Ted Stevens Lisa Murkowski, still managed to bring home the bacon. According to Reid’s amendment, they’ll get a Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Fairbanks, a city that’s located in the middle of the state.
You, too, can have fun finding these projects. A searchable version of the clay pigeon amendment is now available on the Heritage Foundation website thanks to the hard work of N.Z. Bear.
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