Romney Campaign Press Release - Santorum and Earmarks: A Love Story

Senator Santorum Was A "Prolific" User Of Earmarks And Continues To Defend The Practice:

Club For Growth: "Santorum Was A Prolific Supporter Of Earmarks, Having Requested Billions Of Dollars For Pork Projects In Pennsylvania While He Was In Congress." ("2012 Presidential White Paper #4: Former Senator Rick Santorum," Club For Growth, 6/6/11)

Santorum Brought Over $1 Billion In Pork-Barrel Spending Back To Pennsylvania. "In all, Taxpayers for Common Sense estimated, Mr. Santorum helped secure more than $1 billion in earmarks during his Senate career, which stretched from 1995 through 2006." (Michael Luo and Mike McIntire, "Donors Gave As Santorum Won Earmarks," The New York Times, 1/15/12)

Santorum, In 2009: "I'm Very Proud Of All The Earmarks I Put In Bills. I'll Defend Earmarks." SANTORUM: "I'm not saying necessarily earmarks are bad. I have had a lot of earmarks. In fact, I'm very proud of all the earmarks I put in bills. I'll defend earmarks." (Fox News' "Hannity," 2/26/09)

Santorum, On Earmarking — Perhaps Forgetting He Is No Longer In Congress: "I Don't Think That's Necessarily Wrong. In Fact, I Think That's Our Duty To Do So." CNN's WOLF BLITZER: "You and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania probably got a billion dollars in earmarks for various projects in Pennsylvania. Do you want to respond to that accusation that they make against you?" SANTORUM: "Yeah, well, I'm sure Senator Specter got more than I did, because he was on the Appropriations Committee, but I believed at the time that Congress has a specific authority to spend money, and sometimes the Congress and the president disagree on how that money is spent. ... There's a whole bunch of things that Congress and the president disagree on, and sometimes Congress steps up and says no, Mr. President, you will spend the money this way. I don't think that's necessarily wrong. In fact, I think that's our duty to do so." (CNN's "The Situation Room," 2/10/12)

2012: "[Santorum] Declined To Identify Any Earmarks He Regretted." ("Under Attack, Santorum Defends 'Good' Earmarks," The Associated Press, 2/9/12)

A Question For The Senator — Were These Earmarks Was Worth Borrowing From China To Pay For?

The Erstwhile $400 Million "Bridge To Nowhere": "Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum is defending his votes to spend federal money on politically earmarked projects, including the so-called 'Bridge to Nowhere' in Alaska that was never built. ... [Santorum:] 'People say that I voted for "The Bridge to Nowhere." I did. I went with the federalist argument..." (William Petroski, "Santorum Defends Votes For 'Bridge To Nowhere' And Other Political Earmarks," Des Moines Register, 12/29/11)

$500,000 For A "Luxurious Polar-Bear Exhibit": "Typical of his campaigning these days was a stop earlier this month at the Pittsburgh Zoo, where he boasted to local reporters about how he'd fetched $500,000 from federal taxpayers to build one of the most luxurious polar-bear exhibits outside Arctic climates." ("Santorum Goes Full Circle," The Washington Times, 8/22/06)

$900,000 For "Hides And Leather Research": "$900,000 for Eastern Regional Research Center Hides and Leather Research conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture. The research, conducted at the Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, provides the hides and leather industry with cost-effective and environmentally safe tanning processes which will enhance U.S. producers' competitiveness in world markets." (Sen. Rick Santorum, Press Release, 6/23/05)

$400,000 For "Exhibits To Highlight Bird Migration": "$400,000 for the Avian Conservation Center at the Philadelphia Zoo to develop exhibits to highlight bird migration and the mutually beneficial relationship between agriculture and conservation." (Sen. Rick Santorum, Press Release, 7/17/01)