Republican Earmark Ban Empty BS

Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchison raked in $1.2 billion alone.

Texas raked in $1.6 billion for projects sought by its members of Congress. That total swells to $1.8 billion when earmarks requested solely by the White House, mostly for military projects, are added.

Houston-area lawmakers are among the most prolific fans of the earmark in the Texas delegation, totaling about $322 million in this year's budget. They sponsored or co-sponsored 85 of the 573 Texas earmarks. Five of the top seven Texas earmarkers come from Houston, led by Democratic Rep. Gene Green and Republican Rep. John Culberson.

The aggressive use of earmarks by Texans comes as President Barack Obama and congressional Republican leaders are denouncing the proliferation of earmarks over the past 15 years. There were 9,413 included in this year's federal budget, down from 10,363 in 2009. But the cost of those earmarks grew to $15.9 billion from $15.6 billion last year.