5 High-Tech Earmarks Hidden in the Pentagon's New Budget  By
Roxana Tiron October 1, 2009 12:00 AM  You've heard about the
earmarks in the recent $700 billion bailout, but what about the
recently passed 2009 Defense Appropriations Bill? It's not all
about tanks, fighter jets and bullets: The defense bill has
traditionally been a magnet for earmarks (also known as pork
barrel or member projects) that tend to benefit companies or
initiatives in the lawmakers' home districts or states.
Congress, in approving the budget, appropriated billions of
dollars to R&D programs that the Pentagon did not ask for. This
year's bill contains 2025 earmarks worth $4.8 billion, according
to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan budget watchdog.
1. Copper Antimicrobial Research Program  $1.6 million  Sen.
Richard Durbin, D-Ill., takes credit for this earmark that goes
to the Olin Corporation in his state to find ways to reduce
hospital-acquired infections in the Defense Department's
healthcare facilities. Copper kills some b