Clinton And McCain Scuffle Over Earmarks

Hillary Clinton's campaign responded rapidly today to Sen. John McCain's charges on earmarks -- even before McCain had the chance to make his case.

Campaign spokesman Phil Singer suggests that McCain has praised the very bill he's now trashing. The AZ Senator did so on May 25.

Maximizing the transparency of Members' requests is fundamental to good governance. As stewards of taxpayers' dollars, it is our duty to spend the people's money responsibly, and to do it in an open and honest fashion. I am pleased that the committee has accepted that responsibility. This year's bill proves that a strong national defense and saving taxpayers' dollars are — as it should be — bipartisan priorities. I thank Chairman Levin for his leadership and support

The McCain campaign's response: "We’re praising the earmark reforms which added transparency and now allow us to know about Hillary’s earmarks."

(Well -- the headline of the release was: "SENATOR McCAIN COMMENDS COMMITTEE PASSAGE OF NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION FY '08")

And here are some of the earmarks Clinton asked to be added to the bill:

-- "Enhanced safety for helicopter pilots during emergency response missions"
-- "Enhanced safety for Navy divers -- the RNAV upgrade"
-- "Enhanced detection of missiles for the Navy -- the AN/SPQ-9B"
-- "A chemical skin decontamination device" for troops
-- money for FAST Dressing kits that are "effective against all kinds of blood loss including severe arterial and venous bleeding."
-- Continuity of government operations funding
--money for a joint DoD/industry projeject to protect against cyber attacks
-- needed money for additional military tents
-- $2M for an IED Trauma Detection kit manufactured by Intellison Corp.