Tom Daschle is risking the sacrifice of millions of dollars for South Dakota priorities in the omnibus spending bill in order to champion the priorities of the party he leads, as seen by a story in the Washington Post today headlined "GOP Senators Push To Pass Spending Bill." Excerpt:
Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) sent senators a letter last week listing home-state projects they would lose if the bill failed. And yesterday Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) warned colleagues in a letter that defeat would mean a loss of spending increases for many popular national programs."Attached you will find a list of projects that may be of particular interest to you," Stevens wrote in what a senior GOP aide described as an unusual but not unprecedented move to remind senators of their personal political stake in passage of a bill.
One Senate aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said his senator's list included more than 300 items spread over nine pages, including one as small as $25,000 for a youth center.
How is Tom Daschle "delivering for South Dakota" when his leadership duties demand that he block funding for South Dakota spending items in the omnibus bill?
It would be very interesting to see the contents of the letter sent by Ted Stevens to Tom Daschle. For a list of the money earmarked for South Dakota in the omnibus spending bill, click HERE.
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