which the house banned this year. so what s this all about? watchdog groups worry it s a backdoor way around the ban. the house armed services chaim cuts hundreds of millions of dollars from a variety of defense programs and put the money in a newly created pot dubbed the mission force enharsment transfer fund. lawmakers are using it to pay for projects and policy proposals. to some it is a pet project slush fund. this never has never been in this bill before. it s certainly suspicious that it has occurred for the first time after earmarks have been placed under a moratorium, and it looks like a work-around. reporter: but it is another form of pork. well, no, i disagree. i don t think that it s pork because you re not able to allocate where it goes. reporter: that is a big difference. with traditional earmarks, lawmakers guaranteed funding for projects back home. here, the defense department has final say over the money. but in some cases there appears to be little doubt lawm
it s memorial day, may 30th, 2011. president obama is at arlington national sepl tore. live pictures paying tribute to those men and women who gave their lives to defend our country. shortly the president will speak at arlington s amphitheater. his address live, as well as remarks from mike mullen and defense secretary robert gates. arlington national cemetery, 624 acres of hallowed ground, the final resting place for fallen troops from all of america s wars, including the most recent. the war dead from iraq and afghanistan are laid to rest in an area that s known as section 60. our correspondent chris lawrence is there on this memorial day. chris, describe for us if you can the significance of this place that some call the saddest acre in america. reporter: well, suzanne, this is where most of the iraq and afghanistan war dead have been buried. so for a lot of these families the wounds are still very fresh. they have lost their loved ones in the last year, the last
added to a defense bill for unmanned vehicle technology thanks to congressman mo brooks who represents the district. that is probably going to go to your district and help your constituents. i can t say it is going to the fifth congressional district but i will say this, if that is a service we can offer to america, i ll be tickled pink. reporter: in this press release brooks boasted about getting more jobs for his district. that sounds like an earmark which the house banned this year. what s this all about? watchdog groups worry it is a back door way around the ban. house armed services chairman cut hundreds of millions of dollars from a variety of defense programs and put the money in a newly created pot dubbed the mission force enhancement transfer fund. lawmakers are using it to pay for projects and policy proposals. to some, it is a pet project slush fund. this money has never been in this bill before. it s certainly suspicious that it has occurred for the first time ever
hundreds of millions of dollars was cut from a variety of defense programs and put in a pot and lawmakers are using it to pay for projects and policy proposals. to some it s a pet project slush fund. this money has never been in this bill before. it s certainly suspicious it has occurred for the first time after earmarks have been placed under a moratorium and it looks like a work-around. reporter: but it s another form of pork? no, i disagree. i don t think it s pork because you re not able to allocate where it goes. reporter: that is a big difference, with traditional earmarks lawmakers guaranteed funding for projects back home. here the defense department has final say over the money. in some cases there appears to be little doubt lawmakers districts would benefit. there was a corrosion prevention
what? they found another way to spend your money. plus, a dramatic escape for passengers aboard a delta flight. we ll show you what happened in this memorial day weekend, the fleet has arrived in new york. i ll speak to a marine who survived being shot and is headed back to combat in afghanistan. we start with spending cuts on capitol hill. every politician is looking for a way to save a little money, whether it s from medicare or public television or what have you. but funding cuts may not be on the menu when it comes to pet projects. yes, they say they have banned earmarks, but somehow lawmakers are finding a way to keep the money on hand. they re taking it from other projects. so instead of cutting that money from the bottom line, they re funneling it to a little known pentagon fund. senior cnn congressional correspondent dana bash has a look at that. reporter: redstone arsenal in alabama could go et $2.5 million added to a defense bill for unmanned vehicle technolog