The Cincinnati Enquirer shines  a light on the federal dollars hauled in by Greater Cincinnati's nine-member  House and Senate delegation. When it  comes to delivering the pork, the paper found that Sen. Mitch McConnell is the area's most powerful member. McConnell, a member of the Senate  Appropriations Committee, hauled in $391 million in federal funding for local  projects in budget bills being worked on in Congress, more than 1½ times the  amount that the area's other eight lawmakers got -- combined.

In a dramatic contrast, House Minority Leader  John Boehner is a teetotaller. He doesn't believe in earmarks and hasn't asked for any money for local  projects in the 13 spending bills that make up the federal budget. 

The  Enquirer built their own search engine that  allows readers to search what earmarks local members have gotten in spending  bills that are pending in Washington. Update: It bears mentioning that the database shows just how lousy the new Senate disclosure requirements on earmarks is. There are no company names. Just a general description of what the money should be spent on. The Enquirer writes about Earmark Watch, a joint project of Taxpayers for Common Sense and the Sunlight Foundation.  

Kudos  to The Enquirer.  Hopefully more papers will do the same and  start following what their congressional delegation is doing with our  money.  

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