Obama Lied About 'Ban on Earmarks' in Stimulus

Whitetail, Montana, an unincorporated town with a population of 71, sits on the U.S.-Canada border; the Whitetail border checkpoint sees about three travelers a day; still, the sleepy checkpoint received $15 million under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan; critics wants to know why

Homeland Security Newswire

Just to refresh us on what he said when he started this crud at our expense.

"We will ban all earmarks in the recovery package," he said. "And I describe earmarks as the process by which individual members insert pet projects without review. So what I'm saying is, we're not having earmarks in the recovery package, period."

Link to the Lie Itself

AP reports that despite Obama's promises that the stimulus plan would be transparent and free of politics, the government is handing out $720 million for border upgrades under a process which is both secretive and susceptible to political influence. This allowed low-priority projects such as the checkpoint in Whitetail, Montana, to skip ahead of more pressing concerns, according to documents revealed to AP.

Promises, promises. It really sounds like the same old song and dance, my friends. There is speculation that the border patrol isn't even very effective, preventing only 30% of illegal alien and smuggling attempts that enter the border.

Link to Article About CBP Failing

"At the ports of entry," reports GAO, "CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) has both increased training for agents and enhanced technology. However, the DHS Annual Performance Report for fiscal years 2008-2010 sets a goal for detecting and apprehending about 30 percent of major illegal activity at ports of entry in 2009, indicating that 70 percent of criminals and contraband may pass through the ports and continue on interstates and major roads to the interior of the United States."

* A border station in DHS secretary Janet Napolitano's home state of Arizona is getting $199 million, five times more than any other border station. The busy Nogales checkpoint has required repairs for years but was not rated among the neediest projects on the master list reviewed by the AP. Napolitano credited her lobbying as Arizona governor for getting the project near the front of the line for funding under the Bush administration. All it needed was money, which the stimulus provided.

$199 MILLION for ONE border station...the DHS secretary is a crook and so is her boss.

* A checkpoint in Laredo, Texas, which serves more than 55,000 travelers and 4,200 trucks a day, is rated among the government's highest priorities but was passed over for stimulus money.

* The Westhope, North Dakota, checkpoint, which serves about 73 people a day and is among the lowest-priority projects, is set to get nearly $15 million for renovations.

The Whitetail project, which involves building a border station the size and cost of a Hollywood mansion, benefited from two key allies, Montana Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester. Both pressed Napolitano to finance projects in their state. Tester's office boasted of that effort in an April news release, crediting Baucus and his seat at the head of the "powerful Senate Finance Committee."

Customs officials would not discuss that claim. Asked to explain Whitetail's windfall, they provided a one-page fact sheet that contains no information about Whitetail's needs and is almost identical to the fact sheet for every other Montana project.

It is hardly a recent phenomenon for politicians to use their influence to steer money to their home states. Yet Obama said the stimulus would be different. He banned "earmarks," which lawmakers routinely slip into bills to pay for pet projects, and he told agencies to "develop transparent, merit-based selection criteria" for spending.

So, basically, what we have here is just 'business as usual.' Butt smoochers to Obama get lots of money for overpriced projects in their states and projects that are actually NEEDED don't get anything. Yay Obama!

Pet projects for those close to him and just another lie for the rest of us.