One man's pork is another's passion
Even as politicians these days campaign against earmarks for special pet projects, California legislators alone received more than $1 billion for such projects last year, according to new data from a nonprofit watchdog group. Lisa Friedman in the Daily News.
While the state's 35 Democrats collectively secured about twice as much money as California's 19 Republicans, many of the state's individual GOP lawmakers received more money than their counterparts in the majority.
Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, whose spokesman did not respond to a request to speak to the congressman about earmarks, raked in $137.4 million - more than any other Californian, and more than all but four other members of the entire U.S. House, according to data from the Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group that tracks federal spending.