(1) U.S. House and Senate set to do battle on earmarks & (2) Say what Sen. Reid?

From The Hill:

The House and Senate are heading for a clash over earmarks this fall because House lawmakers have nearly halved the number of their pet projects while the Senate has done little to reduce earmarks in spending bills.

As a result, the Senate has proposed spending more than twice as much as the House on earmarks, creating the biggest disparity between the two chambers on parochial project spending in years.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the concern over the total money spent on earmarks is misplaced.

“I don’t think we should be worried about the number of earmarks,” he said. “If they’re good earmarks, fine; if they’re not good, get rid of them.”