Asked if he favored suspending earmarks to offset Katrina funding, Sen. Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) said: ??¢â???¬?????Look, I??¢â???¬â???¢m for earmarks. You know why I??¢â???¬â???¢m for earmarks? Because OMB [Office of Management and Budget], first of all. They??¢â???¬â???¢re not know-it-alls and be-alls. I know more about the road system in Mississippi than anybody at OMB, or frankly, the Department of Transportation. So, when they don??¢â???¬â???¢t provide funds to the four-lane Highway 49 from Florence, Miss., to Jackson, Miss., I??¢â???¬â???¢m going to do that. Because they had not done it. I mean, that is the way the system works. We are co-equal branches. I also know that the OMB has always under-funded projects that they know we??¢â???¬â???¢re going to add money back to. Because in the end they know we??¢â???¬â???¢ll get the money, and secondly, their budget looks better because it didn??¢â???¬â???¢t fund something they know we are going to fund. So, they get to smack us, and they get the credit.??¢â???¬
