Earmarks Will Not Hold Up '09 Appropriations

Obama Will Sign '09 Appropriations Despite Earmarks

According to both Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and OMB Director Peter Orszag, speaking on the Sunday talk shows, President Obama will sign the appropriations legislation for fiscal 2009 Congress is expected to send him this week, after clearing the Senate and the conference committee, despite 8,330 earmarks costing about $7.7 billion out of the $410 billion appropriated, or a little less than 1.9% of the total expenditures authorized in the bill.

Despite heavy Republican criticism that the Oval Office is now backing down from the campaign pledge of "no earmarks," these two high level staffers characterized the '09 appropriation measure as "last year's business," and emphasized that Obama will not be so forgiving in connection with the future budget and appropriation bills coming to his desk.

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