This week the Senate debates the Defense Appropriations bill, and as can be expected, the upper chamber has seen fit to lard the bill with amendments that have little to do with securing our nation but everything to do with bringing home the bacon. While Americans follow the debate, they should be aware of the programs that will get attached to our national security funding. For instance:

• Senator Daniel Inouye wants to spend $5 million for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission (S.4752);
• Inouye also wants $500,000 for a traveling exhibit on the military experience of World War II (S.4766); and
• Senator John Warner requests $7.5 million for the Joint Advertising, Market Research, and Studies program (S.4779).

Can anyone explain how these programs, totaling $13 million, assist in defending the nation? And bear in mind that this is just the beginning; expect more of these amendments and earmarks within defense funding, as the annual appropriations bill has little risk of veto under all but the most extreme circumstances at any time, let alone during a war.