Posted on 04/18/2008 7:34:17 AM PDT by radar101
WASHINGTON – The Senate on Thursday took the rare action of asking the Justice Department to investigate an Alaska congressman's earmark for a Florida highway project, a matter that threatens to become the "bridge to nowhere" of 2008 and could endanger veteran Rep. Don Young's political future.
The Senate's 64-28 vote calls on the Justice Department to look into the circumstances surrounding the 2005 earmark, which shifted $10 million from a project to widen Interstate 75 in southwest Florida to a study of a Coconut Road interchange that promised to benefit one of Young's campaign donors.
The attention to a 2005 earmark by an Alaska congressman for a Florida road has, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., put it, spotlighted "the corruption that permeated the Congress in recent years."
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Young, a Republican who took office in 1973, would not comment Thursday, but he has said for the past week that he welcomes the scrutiny.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Well, Alaska and Florida are so close together geographically, and have so much else in common, that it’s not surprising their Congressional delegations would want to stay on good terms with each other and support each other’s projects.
Congress makes a small gesture so they can claim they’re reducing pork-barrel earmarks. It’s meaningless. As long as congress has billions of dollars at its disposal, the earmarks—and attendant corruption—will continue.
Young is a sleaze anyway, it’s not new knowledge now is it.
Until we start voting out some of these sleazebags, there’s not much that’s going to change. Rise up Americans! Take a stand (for a change)
“The Alaska congressman is not identified in the article ~ must be a rat”
Sorry- nope, Don Young (R) Alaska. He is a sleeze of the highest order.
“the corruption that permeated the Congress in recent years.”
Of course he’s talking about the house bank scandal, the house post office scandal, and etc. ...isn’t he??
If the guy’s corrupt, file charges, but dont’ be a frickin’ hipocrite.
Harry Reid is the pot calling the kettle black....
He is one of my senators, and he is a chronic liar and cheat.
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