Hal Rogers

Halimah Abdullah in this morning’s Herald profiles the new and impr… well, House Appropriations Chieftain Hal Rogers:

Widely known for steering federal dollars to projects in his district, the Somerset Republican and House Appropriations Committee chairman is now helping lead GOP efforts to trim fat from the federal budget.

It’s a charming transformation for a man previously known as “The Prince of Pork” and who, by his own staff’s estimation, between 1999 and 2005 alone managed to steer $2.4 Billion to his home district (after that, they lost count).

For a man who’s begged for ObamaBucks under the Stalinistic National Socialism of Maoist ObamaCare he’s simultaneously trying to destroy, and who has been attacked by his fellow conservatives at National Review (they called him “a national disgrace“) for siphoning off needed Homeland Security dollars… this change is remarkable.

Consider another Halimah Abdullah profile of Rogers, this one from 2009, which examines the crooked Congressman’s budget requests:

There are 103 requests totaling $466.6 million on Rogers’ 22-page request form, which is buried several pages deep on his Web site.

Those requests include roughly $40 million for programs that Rogers created or that are housed in Rogers’ hometown of Somerset at the Center for Rural Development, a sprawling, state-of-the-art facility known locally as the “Taj-Ma Hal.”

 And the kickbacks that come from them:

Rogers’ earmark requests include $6 million to Somerset-based Progeny Systems to develop a biometrics-based submarine access control system; $8 million to Outdoor Venture Corp., also in Somerset, for tents that can be relocated and reconstructed by two people in 20 minutes; and $16 million to the McKee-based Phoenix Products Inc. for aircraft drip pans.

Progeny employees gave more than $13,000 to Rogers through his campaign and his political action committee, HALPAC. Outdoor Venture Corp. president James Egnew and his wife, Azalie, contributed more than $20,000 to Rogers’ campaigns; Peggy and Thomas Wilson, owner and manager of Phoenix Products, have given roughly $15,000.

Rogers sees the connection as coincidental.

But that was then and this is now… that Hal Rogers is gone and as today’s profile proves, we have a new Hal Rogers:

“My district will be among the hardest hit by these cuts, but my people understand that everyone must tighten their belts during this time of crisis.”

Hitting particularly close to home, the $1.3 Billion new Hal Rogers slashed from community health centers — which included the rural health centers old Hal had (in an apparent moment of decent pork-steerage) once called “essential.”

And what do Congressman Porker’s colleagues think of the job he’s new-doing? Well, Abdullah tracked down a couple of them. Fellow Republcian Rand Paul took a quiet shot at good ol’ new Hal:

“I applaud the Republicans for moving a step further toward the needed cuts,” said Sen. Rand Paul, who voted against the stopgap measure earlier this week. “However, the proposals are simply not enough.”

And Congressman Ben Chandler really put the screws to hypocrite Hal and the GOP’s bullshit economic reforms, just absolutely laying into him:

Rogers always handles complex, difficult situations in a considerate and level-headed way, said Rep. Ben Chandler, D-Versailles.

“He has worked very hard, and I am confident he will continue to prioritize the needs of his home state in the appropriations process,” Chandler said.

Boom! Roasted!

Anyway… Hal’s a totally different dude and you should read all about it.

(And for the record, this ain’t the first time Ben’s pulled out the pom-poms for Hal Purnell)