By Carl Weiser
Enquirer Washington bureau

Rep. Steve Chabot successfully lobbied to get more than $5 million for Cincinnati in a giant spending bill, including money for the Museum Center, the Brent Spence Bridge and street improvements near the zoo.

Then he voted against it.

The Westwood Republican was one of 38 Republicans who voted against the omnibus, as the bill is known. Despite Chabot's opposition, the House passed it last week before skedaddling for the year. The Senate won't vote on it until January.

The bill contained more than $10 million worth of projects for Greater Cincinnati. That included $5 million worth of projects Chabot himself had personally requested or had joined other members of the delegation in requesting.

But Chabot said his aversion to excessive government spending, especially at a time of record budget deficits, trumped the local pork.

"Just because Cincinnati receives several million dollars, that's not justification to vote for an $820 billion spending bill,'' said his spokesman, Brian Griffith. "The first priority should be a balanced federal budget.''

Hamilton County Democratic Co-Chairman Tim Burke said Chabot was trying "to claim the best of both worlds. You have to admit that he's not the first politician to have attempted that.''

Greg Harris, Chabot's 2002 opponent and possible 2004 opponent, called it "smart politics, but dishonest.''

"He gets to claim moral outrage against the size of a spending bill loaded with pork, while knowing full well that $5 million of that pork is coming to Cincinnati,'' Harris said.

Actually, according to the National Taxpayers Union, nobody in the U.S. House wants to cut spending more than Chabot. The group annually calculates the costs or savings of every bill sponsored by all 535 members of Congress.

Overall, Chabot's legislative agenda would have saved taxpayers $15.7 billion in the most recent session of Congress - more than any set of bills from other members of Congress.

.

Not a single other Tristate representative would have cut government spending, assuming all their sponsored bills had passed. In fact, only 26 of the House's 435 members proposed overall cuts to government spending.

Check out your representative's score at: http://www.ntu.org/ntuf_billtally.

Not Elder hostile: Elder High School, winner of back-to-back state Division I football championships, is now in the record book: The Congressional Record.

Chabot took the House floor Monday to congratulate the Panthers, who have brought pride to Price Hill and all of Cincinnati, he said.

"Way to go, Elder Panthers,'' he said. "And from a LaSalle Lancer, it might be a tough thing to do, but we are real proud of you, Elder. God bless you.''

Bad bet: Rep. Rob Portman bet his buddy, former House member and now Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich, that the Bengals would beat the Ravens. The stakes: crab cakes if the Bengals won, Graeter's ice cream if the Ravens won. The Ravens beat the Bengals 31-13.

"The governor is having Cincinnati's very best for dessert,'' said Portman spokesman Kyle Downey.

---

Carl Weiser covers Washington news for the Enquirer. E-mail cweiser@gns.gannett.com or call (202) 906-8134.