pork barrel

基本解释

Once a selling point for lawmakers, congressionally directed spending – otherwise known as earmarks or “pork barrel” projects – is becoming a liability for many incumbents in Campaign 2010.
曾经是立法者的卖点，国会直拨开支，另一种说法是计划开支或者分肥计划，现在成为许多在任议员2010竞选的责任。
For the first time in decades, congresspeople aren’t trading pork barrel projects and tax breaks –they’re negotiating steep budget cuts.
几十年来第一次国会议员不愿把分肥拨款发展项目与减税做交易——他们就大幅预算消减协商谈判。
He says he will veto pork-barrel spending, a threat his Senate record makes credible.
他说他将否决“猪肉桶”开销，他在参议院的经历证明这个威胁是真实可靠的。

Stimulus spending in particular tends to fund pork barrel projects that Congress has been previously resisting.
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Republicans are skeptical, especially about government loan guarantees, pork barrel projects and mandating higher priced union labor.
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It started in 2002, he says, when he got a tip about a huge pork barrel project.
NPR: Origins Of Bridge To Nowhere Explained

If you say that someone is using pork barrel politics, you mean that they are spending a lot of government money on a local project in order to win the votes of the people who live in that area.