50 Top 10 Lists of 2007

Top 10 Underreported Stories

#9. Earmarking — Alive and Well

Despite their party's pledge to cut back on earmarking in federal spending bills, many Democrats continue to tack on funds for pet projects. One of the biggest — and most unabashed — pork procurers is Rep. Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania. In 2007 alone, he pushed through $166.5 million in earmarks, including $23 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center, which is located in his hometown of Johnstown, Pa. Murtha, who chairs the powerful defense-appropriations committee, managed to keep funding the center even after the General Accountability Office declared it was not only a waste of money, but a duplication of intelligence work being done elsewhere.

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