"Keep it in the family," that's what I always say. And when it comes to spreading around the hard earned tax dollars of Americans, many Congressmen take that cliche to heart.

Many members have wives and family members working on their staff. But Representative Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts has taken the idea one step further and popped a couple of earmarks in the hopper for businesses where his wife is an employee or board member.

Marino Eccher of the Boston Globe has the story:

Lynch arranged the passage of $760,430 in federal earmarks for the South Boston Community Health Center. Margaret Lynch is the center's director of marketing and development. Earmarks totaling $881,018 were appropriated for the Gavin Foundation, a residential substance abuse program. Lynch's wife was named to the foundation's unpaid board just after it received its first earmark in 2003.

The earmarks for the two organizations totaled $1.64 million. For both organizations, the funding was for substance abuse services. Lynch could cite no instance in which he has obtained earmarked funds for any other substance abuse treatment facility in his district, which includes much of the southern part of Boston and 19 other cities and towns.

For the coming fiscal year, Lynch is seeking $190,000 more for the health center and an additional $350,000 for the Gavin Foundation, according to Lynch's official US House website. This year, for the first time, members of Congress are required to disclose requests for earmarks, which are congressionally mandated expenditures that House and Senate members have long used to fund favored projects in their districts.

In an interview, Lynch said there has been no favoritism involved in the funding, and that his wife has received no financial benefit from the earmarks.

Pardon me as I wipe the spittle off my monitor. Does anyone besides your 5 year old believe that his wife "has received no financial benefit from the earmarks."

That's a pretty brazen lie, even for a Congressman.

By the way, just for the record, can you name the political party to which Mr. Lynch belongs? Not if you read this article because you won't find any reference to the Democratic party or even the customary designation (D) following the first use of his name.

Hat Tip: Ed Lasky