Sarah Palin of the South

For Immediate Release – April 22, 2010

North Myrtle Beach, SC -- GOP First District Congressional Candidates Tim Scott and Katherine Jenerette teamed up on Wednesday to decry the federal government’s decision to siphon millions of dollars away from the Department of Defense budget to erect a monument to Ted Kennedy in Boston, Massachusetts.

“I don’t know of any Taxpayer Paid shrine or mausoleum to any politician in Massachusetts or South Carolina that can stop an RPG or IED or an AK-47 round in Iraq or Afghanistan ,” said Jenerette a veteran of the Persian Gulf War and a former U.S. Congressional Aide. “But if that $20 million can help save one single American soldier’s life downrange in Iraq or Afghanistan, it’s worth it to keep it in the U.S. Defense Department budget and not siphon it off for the Sainthood of Ted Kennedy or anyone else.”

At least $19 million has been siphoned from the U.S. Defense Department budget to pay for the Kennedy shrine, which could ultimately end up costing taxpayers as much as $80 million.

“Our magnificent military is being stretched by 2 wars right now. The Pentagon, just today, requested another $33 billion towards the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wasting tax dollars is bad enough, but weakening our military in the process is absolutely inexcusable,” Scott said. “When the people of this country told Congress that it was time to start prioritizing spending – this is just the opposite of what they had in mind.”

“On matters like this Tim Scott and I see eye-to-eye,” said Jenerette, an Army Paratrooper and Officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. “We already know Washington D.C. is full of political con-artists who can pull money out of one taxpayer’s pocket and stick it into another pocket without blinking an eye; so anytime we can highlight examples of ‘Pork-Gone-Wild’ in Congress I’ll be glad to work with Tim or any other member of our legislative delegation.”

Katherine Jenerette for Congress, First U.S. Congressional District, South Carolina
Web Site: http://www.jenerette.com Photos and bio: http://www.jenerette.com/2010_bio