One of the first appropriations bills for the House and Senate to complete was military construction.  House and Senate appropriators seized upon the opportunity to load up the bill with projects not requested by the Pentagon.  In total, House appropriators added $662 million while their Senate counterparts added $801 million.

• Taxpayers Get the Cold Shoulder.  Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) never misses an opportunity to send as many projects home to his state regardless of whether or not the Department of Defense wants to spend the money.  In the fiscal 2003 Senate Military Construction Appropriations Bill, Stevens snagged $42.9 million, including:  $19.5 million for the Blair Lakes Range Maintenance Complex at Eielson Air Force Base; $15 million for a community center at Fort Richardson; and $2.7 million for a wide-body aircraft hangar at Elmendorf Air Force Base.

• Lookie Here!  I’m Trying to Get Re-elected.  Senate Military Constructions Appropriations subcommittee member Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) is in full re-election mode.  He added $26.8 million to the Senate bill and put out a press release bragging about it.  Projects headed back to South Dakota include:  $13.2 million for operations facility at Ellsworth Air Force Base and $10.6 million barracks, dining, and parking for the National Guard at Camp Rapid.

• Kentucky Reign.  Senate appropriator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has never let Kentucky fall far behind in the mad dash for appropriations.  The Senate bill contains $24 million of unrequested projects, including: $9.8 million for an ammunition demilitarization facility; $7.9 million for ammunition demilitarization at a separate facility; and $6.8 million for containment fencing at Fort Knox.  The gold may be safe, but your money surely isn’t.

• Farr Far Away.  $8.5 million was added by House Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee member Sam Farr (D-Calif.):  including $7 million to begin replacement of Spanagel Hall at the Naval Postgraduate school.  Farr bragged about these additions to the Bill.  One wonders whether or not he will be bragging about the $165 billion deficit engulfing the federal government.

• King of the Heap.  House appropriator Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) has never been shy about sending pork back home.  This year’s House bill is no different with $7.4 million for two projects in his district:  $5.8 million for military housing in Brunswick and $1.6 million for a command and control facility at Fort Stewart.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.