House GOP decry appropriations bill

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. House of Representatives Republicans voiced complaints about a $410 billion appropriations bill, saying it contains unnecessary spending on pet projects.

The bill, which passed the House Wednesday 245-178 on a largely party-line vote, will fund government operations through September. The Senate is expected to take up the measure within the next few weeks.

Republicans attacked the bill, saying it contained thousands of earmarks that directs funding to specific projects in congressional districts, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group that tracks federal spending, said the measure included more than 8,000 earmarks, costing nearly $7.7 billion.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who had pledged to limit such spending, also expressed concern about earmarks in the bill, the Post said. Democratic leaders defended the earmarking process, sources told the newspaper, saying a system that allowed congressional members to pick projects in their districts was better than leaving such decisions to federal agencies.

Republicans, already critical of the $787 billion economic stimulus bill that passed this month, said Democrats were in the midst of a spending frenzy.

"We're passing one more massive government spending bill," said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.

House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland responded by saying Democrats' calculations indicated about 40 percent of the earmarks contained in the bill were written by Republicans. The Post said GOP aides didn't dispute the figure.