Senator Patrick Leahy’s office is taking issue with John McCain’s call to end earmark spending.
McCain yesterday criticized presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for securing funding for home-state projects at a brief campaign stop at the Burlington International Airport.
David Carle, a spokesman for Leahy, says the big spenders in Washington are President Bush and allies like Senator McCain, who he says continue to push to send hundreds of billions of dollars to Iraq.
He says by contrast local earmarks are approved by Congress, paid for and are investments at home not overseas in Iraq.
Carles says Vermont depends on the appropriations, which have gone toward cleaning up Lake Champlain, building affordable housing, repairing bridges, and making improvements to the Burlington airport.