March 15, 2007 11:48AM 

# The Emergency Du Jour 

By [Stephen Slivinski](https://www.cato.org/people/stephen-slivinski) 

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True to form, Congress has added some non-defense items to the current “emergency” supplemental spending bill that was proposed mainly as a way to fund the troop surge in Iraq. Among my favorites (as reported in this [chart](http://www.cq.com/graphics/monitor/2007/03/14/mon20070314-14iraq-cht.pdf) — subscription required — in today’s *Congressional Quarterly*):

\* $1.8 billion in crop subsidies

\* $283 million in price supports for milk producers

\* $74 million for “peanut storage” subsidies

\* $25 million in aid to spinach growers who lost money during the 2006 contamination scare

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) 

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