"Earmarking" -- slipping spending items into appropriations bills without much congressional scrutiny and often at the request of lobbyists. Abramoff, who sought many such earmarks for clients from his friends in Congress, called the Senate Appropriations Committee a "favor factory."
McCain noted the number of earmarks had soared under Republican rule in Congress, from 4,000 in 1994 -- totaling $24 billion -- to more than 15,000 items last year, valued at more than $47 billion.
"The behavior has been driven by the ability to contact, perhaps even in the middle of the night, a member of the Appropriations Committee, who then writes in a line item, which no one sees or knows about, sometimes days or even weeks after the bill is passed," McCain said. "That's a process that lends itself to corruption."
McCain noted the number of earmarks had soared under Republican rule in Congress, from 4,000 in 1994 -- totaling $24 billion -- to more than 15,000 items last year, valued at more than $47 billion.
"The behavior has been driven by the ability to contact, perhaps even in the middle of the night, a member of the Appropriations Committee, who then writes in a line item, which no one sees or knows about, sometimes days or even weeks after the bill is passed," McCain said. "That's a process that lends itself to corruption."
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