Taxpayers for Common Sense analyzed the FY2010 Defense Appropriations spending bill that recently passed the House Appropriations Committee. The bill contained 1,116 earmarks worth $2.75 billion. But even with that much cash to spread around, there were certainly the haves and have-nots. The 18 members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hauled in 299 earmarks worth $881.8 million. The lucky dozen and a half lawmakers outmaneuvered the other 417 House members and pulled down 32% of the earmarked dollars and more than a quarter of the earmarks. Furthermore the Defense Subcommittee members averaged $2.9 million per earmark, easily outstripping the rank and file who got $2.4 million per earmark.
But TCS also found that it pays to be generous with the campaign cash. Campaign contributors who gave the subcommittee members $823,000 in campaign contributions raked in 148 earmarks worth $460.9 million (average $3.1 million). The remainder of the earmarks went to some federal (who do not contribute) and other entities.
TCS will continue to analyze the data in the coming days. Here’s a copy of the database.
Weekly Email
