Defense Earmarks

In the last election cycle, a major issue was the prevalence of "earmarks." These handouts were written into bills by members of congress to appropriate money for their district. Many of these earmarks were related to defense spending. The defense industry is spread out across the country so that it is in virtually every Representative's interest to keep the money flowing. A lot of projects that the DoD wants to cancel are instead extended to keep jobs in these congressional districts. This year, when the DoD recommended canceling the F-22 Raptor program, congressman from districts where production takes place were outraged. They managed to negotiate the cancellation to keep an order for a few more frames.