b.cognosco

[...] According to an estimate by Rep. Ron Paul, R-TX, the bill contains $20 billion in "wartime pork," or spending that has no connection with the war in Iraq or the battle against terrorism.

[...] One especially egregious example: Republican Sen. Thad Cochran inserted language that would funnel $250 million to Southern catfish farmers, many of them in his home state of Mississippi, under the guise of providing drought relief for livestock producers.

Other "war-time pork" includes:

• $69 million to fund a "Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust," named after the former Missouri Congressman.
• A measure intended to prevent a German company, DHL Worldwide Express, from competing with Federal Express and United Parcel Service in the delivery of military cargo. During the 2002 election cycle, UPS gave $1.5 million to Democratic and Republican candidates and $300,000 to the Republican National Committee, Neale noted.
• $98 million for an agricultural research lab in Iowa, and $250 million in other Agriculture Department grants.
• $3.2 billion to extend unemployment benefits for airline employees.
• $11 million for Congressional salaries and expenses.
• A total of $12.4 million for the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service, the General Accounting Office and the U.S. Court of International Trade.
• $8 billion in foreign aid for nations that are supposedly helping the fight against terrorism, including Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Djibouti. [...] [Libertarian Party Announcements]