It's Super Pork!

By Perry Bacon Jr.

Where's Ross Perot when you need him? As the year winds down, Congress is rushing to finish doling out money to federal programs. But amid all the haggling over deficit-reduction bills, some pet projects haven't exactly been put on the chopping block.

What's happening with Alaska's infamous "Bridge to Nowhere"? In a move that seems emblematic of this year's pork-barrel propensities, Congress tucked into the transportation bill a provision that earmarks $223 million for a bridge in Alaska to connect Ketchikan and Gravina Island, where only about 50 people live. An additional $229 million was allotted for a similar project elsewhere in the state. Critics raised such a stink that funding for both spans was officially rescinded last week. But the same pile of cash will still go to Alaska, which can now choose whether to spend it on these oft-maligned bridges or on some other project.

So, is there any real belt tightening to speak of? Yes, the deficit-reduction bill the House approved last week reduces spending by $50 billion over the next five years, in part by cutting nearly $13 billion from Medicaid and food stamps. But the legislation passed only after House Republicans suffered a rare defeat--when 22 of them sided with Democrats and voted down a spending bill to cut $8 billion in funding to fight bird flu.

What happens next? Leaders on Capitol Hill will spend the rest of the year trying to reach an agreement between the House's legislation and the Senate's, whose version cuts only around $35 billion from the budget. Among the roadblocks: the Senate's bill authorizes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a provision dropped by the House because of opposition from moderate Republicans.