re: #21 loppyd

$75 million for smoking cessation?

From Jake Tapper’s blog:

In the name of transparency, here are the questions I asked at today’s White House briefing.

TAPPER: Robert, on the stimulus package, the president yesterday told a closed-door meeting of House Republicans that there was spending in the bill that he didn’t like. And, obviously, he took action calling Congressman Waxman to remove the part having to do with the birth control. Now, there is a $335 million provision about education for sexually transmitted diseases. There still is in the bill $50 million funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. And that’s the House, and I understand your emphasis is in the Senate, but in the Senate there are earmarked projects as well: $70 million for a supercomputer for NOAA, $75 million for education for smoking cessation. President Obama can tell these Democratic senators and members of the House, “Take this stuff out of the bill.” He obviously did so with Congressman Waxman. Why doesn’t he do it for all these earmarks?

I can’t believe he actually asked this.