Why There’s Shrimp in the Iraq Spending Bill

To entice reluctant colleagues, House Dems pumped their bill–which seeks troop withdrawal by August ’08–with more than $20 billion in pork.

$20 MILLION for the cleanup and restoration of farmland that has been damaged by freezing temperatures since January

$25 MILLION for spinach growers and handlers to help them bounce back from the E. coli scare that began last September

$74 MILLION to pay for the storage, handling and other unspecified costs of the 2007 peanut crop

$100 MILLION to compensate citrus producers whose crops were destroyed and endangered by hurricanes Katrina and Rita

$120 MILLION to the shrimp and menhaden fishing industries that were damaged by Katrina

$500 MILLION for quick suppression of wildfires, which have recently plagued drought-stricken Western states