President Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress campaigned vowing on budget reform and the ending of earmarks. This past week, the Pentagon spending bill was approved by a House panel. It contained earmarks to companies and special interest whose employees contributed to their congressional campaigns.

Follow up:

When President Obama approved the current fiscal year spending bill last March rich with earmarks he said, this is going to be the end of the old way of doing business and the beginning of a new era of responsibility and accountability." Fat chance. Next fiscal year’s budget is loaded with earmarks to the companies and foundations whose employees and political-action committees gave money to the earmarking congressmen campaigns.

The 2010 defense-spending bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee is $636.3 billion. It contains over 1,100 earmarks, worth more than $2.7 billion. The 18 Members of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee included 148 earmarks totaling $461 million return for the $822,765 given in campaign donations to those lawmakers. That’s a nice ROI (return on investment).

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), Chairman of the defense appropriations panel, earmarked to contributing defense contractors total about $77 million. A spokesman for Murtha, said the congressman is "proud to secure funding for businesses and organizations in our district that are delivering quality products and services to the Defense Department." - Oh, boy!