BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The home counties of Rep. John Boehner and other House Republican leaders tend to do better than most when it comes to receiving federal spending, a computer analysis shows.
Ohio's Butler County received an increase of 5 percent per capita from budget year 1995 to budget year 1997, compared with a nationwide increase of 3 percent.
Of the 23 counties of House Republican leaders and committee chairs, 17 recorded spending gains higher than the national average. Mr. Boehner, R-West Chester, is chairman of the House Republican Conference, the fourth-ranking leadership position in the chamber.
Of the home counties of the top Republican leaders, Mr. Boehner's recorded the second highest per capita increase. First was Fort Bend County, Texas, home of Majority Whip Tom DeLay, which showed a 6 percent increase.
Cobb County, Ga., home of Speaker Newt Gingrich, recorded an increase of 4 percent, while Dallas County, Texas, home of Majority Leader Dick Armey, showed a drop of 1 percent per capita.
"I didn't get elected to plunder the federal treasury on behalf of my constituents," Mr. Boehner said.
Butler County received $936.46 million in 1997, an increase of 7.9 percent in total spending since 1995, an increase even higher than the 5 percent per capita increase for Butler.
"I don't recall any instance where I have used my position to benefit my district improperly," Mr. Boehner said.
Mr. Boehner has gone to bat for O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt, a company in Fairfield that makes armor for the military Humvee vehicles, by writing letters to appropriate committee chairs.
In that case, he said, the action is defensible because the company produces a product the military needs and produces it better than anybody else.
Mr. Boehner said he saw the effectiveness of the vehicle firsthand when he went to Bosnia last year as part of an official U.S. delegation. Mr. Boehner said military commanders showed him a Humvee that had run over a mine with all the personnel inside surviving.
A watchdog group said it was not surprised by figures showing key Republicans' home districts had healthy increases in spending.
"Rank has its privileges, and one of the most unfortunate from the taxpayer perspective is steering money to the home districts of the most powerful members," said National Taxpayers' Union spokesman Pete Sepp.
