INDIANAPOLIS | In the state capital to address the nation's sheriffs -- and raise cash for his presidential campaign -- Republican John McCain laid down the law Tuesday for purveyors of congressional pork.

The veteran senator from Arizona wooed the law-and-order crowd gathered at the 68th annual conference of the National Sheriffs' Association with a promise to eradicate spending, a position that puts him at odds with U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind.

"Earmark spending runs against the public interest in many ways and especially when public safety is in the balance," McCain said. "And that's why, as president, I will veto every bill with earmarks until the Congress stops sending bills with earmarks. It may take a while for Congress to adjust, but sooner or later they'll figure out that there's a new sheriff in town."

Visclosky, a 12-term congressman who consistently ranks among the House leaders in securing earmarks, fired back.

"McCain has had earmarks in the past, so it's somewhat hypocritical for him to adopt the policy of a complete ban on earmarks," Visclosky spokesman Jacob Ritvo said Tuesday. "Not all good ideas come from the (president's) administration, and in the past congressionally directed spending has led to a lot of good things."

Ritvo pointed to the Purdue University Technology Center in Merrillville, which opened in 2005, as one example in which a congressional earmark gave birth to a project that had not drawn attention from the "nameless, faceless" bureaucrats who make most funding decisions in Washington.

On Tuesday, Visclosky, chairman of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, announced funding for three energy research projects at Purdue University Calumet.

The Merrillville Democrat secured $113.6 million in earmarks during the 2008 budget year, good for seventh among the 435 members of the House, according to Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group opposed to earmarks.

McCain, who was first elected to Congress in 1982, didn't single out any lawmakers in his remarks to the sheriffs association. He later attended an afternoon fundraiser for his presidential campaign.

Earlier in the day, McCain told the crowd of roughly 2,000 law enforcement officials he would push to boost funding to deport "thousands of felons" who illegally emigrated to this country. He also said he would commit greater federal support to drug and gang busting.

McCain, who is up against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, also lamented a 5-4 Supreme Court decision last week that ruled child rape is not a crime eligible for the death penalty.

McCain said the five justices "substituted their judgment for that of the people" by overturning the Louisiana case. He said as president, he would appoint judges who stick to a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

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