Spending bill OK'd, with a wad for Utah

WASHINGTON — The House on Monday passed a huge, catchall spending bill that includes a whopping $100 million for Utah projects ranging from expanding TRAX light rail to upgrading local parks.

Watchdog groups complained the money — obtained by Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah — is wasteful pork-barrel spending. Bennett, Utah's only member of Congress who is on an appropriations committee, was unavailable for comment late Monday.

That came as the House voted 242-176 to approve the $373 billion bill that combines seven of the 13 normal appropriations bills Congress must pass each year. It comes more than two months late, because the federal fiscal year began Oct. 1. The Senate may not pass it for another month because of delaying tactics being used by critics.

Reps. Chris Cannon and Rob Bishop, R-Utah, voted for it Monday, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, opposed it — complaining about several provisions, such as inclusion of a pay raise for Congress and failure to block rules that take away overtime pay for many workers. Watchdog groups howled in press conferences that the bill includes an estimated 7,500 earmarks worth $7.5 billion in unneeded pork-barrel spending for special interests. Two groups specifically attacked some of Bennett's requests as among the worst.

Taxpayers for Common Sense included in its Top 10 worst examples of pork what it described as "$100,000 for 'streetscaping' in a rich and trendy neighborhood in Salt Lake City called Ninth and Ninth."

Meanwhile, Citizens Against Government Waste listed seven of the worst examples it saw nationally — and included the $500,000 Bennett obtained for the Pete Suazo Business Center. The group said it was "to purchase building space."

A statement from Bennett's office said the center promotes "entrepreneurial initiatives in Utah's underserved business community" and the money was to help its activities.

Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, said the bill "included thousands of frivolous, bizarre and special interest earmarks for every congressional district in the nation. From making baby food out of salmon to swimming pools in Nevada and California, this spending bill has something for almost everyone. YMCAs, museums, county libraries, ballet schools."

Bennett's office did not immediately respond to such criticism. But Bennett has said previously that he seeks money for worthy Utah projects and does not consider them wasteful. A list from his office included almost 60 Utah projects sharing nearly $100 million in the bill including:

• $30 million toward the TRAX light-rail line to the University of Utah Medical Center.

• $9 million to start planning for the Weber-Davis portion of the proposed Ogden-Provo commuter rail system.
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