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Sen. Coburn takes aim at colleagues' pork
By UPI Staff
United Press International
May 3, 2006

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- A conservative U.S. senator is going after his colleagues' favorite earmarks in a war that has removed at least some pork from the budget.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., forced the Senate to vote individually on the pet projects included in a $106.5 billion emergency defense appropriations bill, the Christian Science Monitor reported.

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., narrowly won a vote on a $700 million project to move the Gulf Coast rail line inland. Critics, pointing out that the railroads and insurers have already paid $300 million for post-hurricane repairs, say the move has more to do with opening up the coast for development than with safety.

Coburn won the next fight, removing $15 million earmarked for a Gulf seafood ad campaign, the newspaper said.

"I guess Sen. Coburn is the new Miss Congeniality," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., another fiscal conservative. "I hope we can pry some more pork out of it,"

The anti-pork campaign has some traction this year. In the wake of lobbyist Jack Abramoff's guilty plea and the prison sentence given former Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif., only 22 percent of U.S. voters approve of Congress, and Republican leaders are anxious to show they favor reform.

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