Hope Springs Annually

The New York Times reports that Republican lawmakers are confident enough about success in Iraq to put our money where their mouth is:

Tucked away in fine print in the military spending bill for this past year was a lump sum of $20 million to pay for a celebration in the nation’s capital “for commemoration of success” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Not surprisingly, the money was not spent.
Now Congressional Republicans are saying, in effect, maybe next year. A paragraph written into spending legislation and approved by the Senate and House allows the $20 million to be rolled over into 2007.

The Republicans who put the money in the appropriations bill may not like the provision being made public:

Democrats called attention to the measure, an act that Republicans are likely to portray as an effort to embarrass them five weeks before the midterm election.

Yes, bringing attention to an item in an spending bill is a political act; it has something to do with holding elected representatives accountable. Though some may have forgotten it, an appropriations bill is an inherently public document.