During his childhood years in Searchlight, Sen. Harry Reid was known as "Pinky." Based on votes he's cast in Washington recently, perhaps "Porky" would now be more appropriate.

Over the past week, a group of fiscally responsible Republicans -- led by Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and including Sen. John Ensign of Nevada -- courageously forced up-or-down votes on a handful of questionable projects larding up the $106.5 billion appropriations measure designed to address the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina relief.

The results highlight the congressional culture of profligacy and should panic productive taxpayers.

-- By a vote of 49-48, senators decided to keep alive a $700 million allocation designed to relocate a rail line on the Mississippi coast so the state can build a new highway. Sen. Reid voted for the spending.

-- By a vote of 51-48, senators approved giving a Mississippi defense contractor up to $200 million to make up for hurricane losses the company says its insurance contractor won't pay. Sen. Reid voted for the spending.

-- By a vote of 59-40, senators agreed to put taxpayers on the hook for $6 million to bail out two Hawaii sugar growers who suffered flood damages. Sen. Reid voted for the spending.

-- By a vote of 51-44, the spending hawks won their lone victory, killing a move to add $15 million to the bill for a seafood promotion program. Sen. Reid voted for the spending.

Meanwhile, the Democratic leader in the Senate talks a great game on the issue of spending restraint. He says he approves of reforms the Senate passed in March that would make it easier to identify and kill "earmarks," the pork lawmakers slip into large spending bills to hijack federal money for projects that solidify voter support for incumbents.

But as his votes this week prove, when it comes time to put his mouth where our money is, Sen. Reid is out back oinking it up in the slop with the rest of the congressional swine.