House Minority Leader John Boehner says good riddance to $200 million in funds for the National Mall initally included in the House economic stimulus bill. That provision was cut during the House Rules Committee meeting yesterday, as was millions for contraceptives for low-income families. During a pen-and-pad session with reporters Wednesday morning, he said the ax needs to be taken to many more initiatives. “That’s two steps in the right direction, but there’s still hundreds of millions in wasteful spending.” Other projects he singled out as wasteful included $400 million for NASA to study climate change and about $650 million…

One controversial provision in the House economic stimulus package is already dead: $200 million for the National Mall. National Park Service spokesman Jeffrey Olson told Federal Times’ Gregg Carlstrom the money would have been used to shore up the Tidal Basin wall near the Jefferson Memorial, which is sinking into the Basin. But that won’t happen right now. The House Rules Committee met Tuesday evening to set rules for floor debate for HR 1, the stimulus package, and adopted the following provision: “4. strikes funding for the National Mall Revitalization Fund.” The rule is self-executing, which means it will automatically…