Today the House approved a bill already approved by the Senate to provide aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy, a most worthy cause. However, the bill was laced with "pork" for causes unrelated to Hurricane Sandy and that raised a controversy over the passing of the bill, jeopardizing approval of the aid so sorely needed.
Issues represented in bills before Congress should stand on their own merit and bills should only include funding for items directly related to the central issue. The current process simply allows Congress to buy votes and has been used over and over to that end. It is highly unethical and promotes a conflict of interest. Would the current process stand up in an audit with regard to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act? Probably not.