WASHINGTON — Sen. Alex Padilla boasts he’s secured about $250 million for 134 projects, ranging from bike and pedestrian path improvements to flood control.
The California Democrat, like most of his colleagues from both parties, is embracing the much-maligned system of earmarks — pork-barrel spending that rewards a member of Congress while not subjecting the expenditures to serious scrutiny.
The system “bypasses the normal process in which projects have to compete on their merits,” said Republican Rep. Tom McClintock, one of four California House members who did not seek earmarks.
