Helping soldiers, their families, and manufacturers of fishing tackle boxes

It would be naive to think that special interest concerns don’t way heavily on the minds of politicians in Washington, and it would be equally naive to underestimate the importance placed on “pork” that lawmakers squeeze into legislation all the time. But given the issue and the timing, I couldn’t help but find the GOP’s approach to the ”Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act” fairly callous.

According to this report in yesterday’s USA Today, the House is considering legislation to offer special tax breaks to soldiers who are stationed overseas. Sounds good to me; if these young men and women are willing to put their life on the line to protect the U.S., then I say they’re far more deserving of a tax cut that the millionaires and billionaires who usually benefit for the GOP’s “generosity.”

But it appears that the bill is offering a whole lot more than just help for folks in the armed forces. Among the 16 additional provisions that have nothing to do with soldiers are: a repeal on an excise tax applied to fishing tackle boxes (which benefits a tackle company in Dennis Hastert’s district), a new excise tax on bows and arrows (pushed by Republican Paul Ryan), and lifting the surtax on overseas horse-racing bettors to help encourage overseas gamblers to place bets in the U.S. (pushed by Republican Jim McCrery).

Am I the only one to find this a bit tasteful? I know Democrats and Republicans are often equally nefarious when it comes to loading a bill with pork, but on this one, it seems like the GOP is out of line. We’re on the brink of war. The U.S. will be putting troops in harm’s way and some of them won’t be coming back. Congress wants to do something for these soldiers and their families? Terrific. But don’t treat a bill for their benefit like a Christmas tree for everyone to hang something on.