Kudos to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on passage of his amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill to ban federal funding of future aviation projects named after members of Congress, by an overwhelming vote of 417 to 2. Good news for taxpayers, who have enough of monuments-to-me of all shapes and sizes, including airports.

Unfortunately, Congress failed to go a step further and stop funding the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, with a motion to recommit that would have done that failing 154-263.

That means hundreds of members of Congress oppose federal funding for airports named members of Congress, unless that member of Congress is John Murtha. Apparently the scandal-prone Congressman from Johnstown still commands enough fear from his peers that they allow his outrageous pork-barrel ways to continue.

From the Republican Motion to Recommit:

"Air service to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is subsidized by the United States taxpayer. Each week, 6 commercial flights take off from or land at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport to or from Washington Dulles International Airport.

"The Murtha airport is subsidized at a rate of $1,394,000 a year through June 30, 2010. Since 1990, the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport has undergone $160,000,000 in improvements that include airport improvement program, military, commercial, and infrastructure projects. The total Federal investment in airport projects at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport has been approximately $150,000,000."