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Pork Barrel Tech Projects On The Rise

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the better-than-a-bridge-i-guess dept.

An anonymous reader writes "News.com has a large article up exploring the increase in 'pork barrel'-style technology projects floating through government spending bills. The water-free urinals discussed on Slashdot last year are one such project, as is a 'Virtual Reality Spray Paint Simulator'." From the article: "Earmarks for favored recipients--known colloquially as pork--have become easier than ever for politicians to secure because of the rapid growth in homeland security and military spending, especially if they can find some plausible technological veneer. Exact figures are difficult to obtain, mostly because spending bills tend to be intentionally obfuscated and specifics are usually absent from legislative text. Government watchdogs, however, say earmarks ostensibly related to technology are clearly on the rise."

1 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. Re:NMCI by NitsujTPU · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yes, here's the timeline.

    http://www.nmci.navy.mil/Press_Room/NMCI%20AT%20A% 20Glance

    NMCI was talked about while I had a summer job doing network support at a Navy base as an undergraduate. The contract was awarded in October, 2000. Bush wasn't even elected yet.