Reid is one of Senate’s top earmark recipients with more than a quarter-billion dollars, group finds

Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010 | 10:01 a.m.

That's what Taxpayers for Common Sense, an independent watchdog group famous for exposing the "Bridge to Nowhere," found in a report that discovered, not surprisingly, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee led the way but that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had the sixth most solo ($91 million) earmarks and eighth most joint ($223 million) earmarks. 168 in all, total of $267.6 billion. None of the other members of Nevada's delegation came close, with Sen. John Ensign at $79 million, Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dean Heller about half that number and Rep. Dina Titus slightly behind them. That is Reid had more than the rest of the delegation combined.

And Nevada, because of Reid, ranked 10th overall. The report acknowledges Reid's leadership post accounts for his and the state's high ranking.

So he will brag about his ability to bring home the bacon while Republicans will argue he is a pork hog feeding at the public trough. (Wonder which projects they will disavow?)

The study is at right.