(Photo by Fibonacci Blue via Flickr)

Former Solicitor General Paul Clement will get $520 an hour with a cap of $500k to defend the unpopular act, which prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

Democrats have criticized the contract as a waste of money, especially since Congressional lawmakers continue to bicker over the best way to spend America's tax dollars.

“The hypocrisy of this legal boondoggle is mind-blowing," said Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). "Speaker [John] Boehner is spending half a million dollars of taxpayer money to defend discrimination. If Republicans were really interested in cutting spending, this should be at the top of the list.”

Speaker John Boehner's spokesman countered Hammill's statement, blaming the need for the contract on President Barack Obama's decision in February to stop defending DOMA through the Department of Justice. The Obama administration said it made the move because part of the act violates the constitution.

Blogger Lane Hudson writes for the Huffington Post that the contract essentially is a front:

Speaker Boehner is trying to hide the exorbitant cost that he is undertaking in his defense of DOMA, which will easily cost millions of dollars. It's especially annoying when compared to his rhetoric on the need to slash the federal budget.

And the law firm that will take these millions of dollars? King & Spaulding is a law firm with offices all over the country. And the firm brags about how it values diversity and participates in a range of activities supporting the LGBT community.

Clement, the lawyer charged with defending DOMA, is a partner at King & Spaulding.

DOMA has decreased in popularity since it was enacted in 1996. A recent CNN poll shows that 51 percent of Americans think same-sex marriage should be recognized by law. Just two years ago, polls showed only 44 percent of Americans thought it should be recognized.

This begs the question: Why is Boehner and other House Republicans wasting time and money to defend DOMA?

The government should not fund discrimination.

Take a look at the contract here.