Anti-Earmark Message Goes Mainstream
By Bluey Posted in Congress | Congress | Earmarks — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Staffers for the Senate Republican Conference today launched the Pork Report, which is being billed as a website that will "highlight questionable uses of taxpayer dollars included in this year's appropriations bills."
The fact that Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a member of the Senate GOP leadership team, has dispatched his staff to work on such an endeavor is pretty remarkable. Last year attacks on pork-barrel spending originated from conservative members such Sens. Tom Coburn and Jim DeMint -- and certainly not leadership. But as Republicans have sought to return to their roots on fiscal restraint, earmarks have become an easy target.
The Pork Report launched on the same day the Club for Growth announced its 2007 Senate RePORK Card, as Ericka Andersen noted earlier. The scorecard tracks senators' votes on 15 anti-pork amendments. It's no surprise that Coburn and DeMint had a perfect score along with Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.). Click here for the full list.
Now that the GOP leadership is picking on pork, it would be nice to see all Republicans take a tough stand against wasteful spending like the water projects bill President Bush vetoed last week. They'll have their first test when a vote to override Bush's veto comes before them later this week.
« Rep. Capuano's Newspeak for Censorship — Comments (5) | Speaker knows best. — Comments (0) »
Anti-Earmark Message Goes Mainstream 6 Comments (0 topical, 6 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
The "Golden Fleece Award" appeared 30 years ago and accomplished nothing. Neither will this.
William proxmires award was meant to promote william proxmire. It worked
This report is meant to brand democrats hypocrites. Its got pretty good chances.
I'm in a cynical phase so I don't expect to see anyone actually cut spending. If it can be kept below the rate of economic growth I would be happy.
______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
The issue is fiscal responsibility. I think someone proposed an approach to dealing with that back in 1994.
Call it "pork", call it "earmarks", in New York State they call it a "member item". Call it whatever you want. But you know specifically what your home political district is getting via those glossy, tri-fold, quarterly mailings that has your representative's face on it. And you'll never call their office and tell them to send it back.
The truth is these expenditures are a miniscule percentage of the total budget. Most government $'s are spent because a law says it must be done.
This is a non-issue. If you really want to cut spending change the law.
Technically, all spending is done because a law says it should be done.
And you are exactly right, fiscal responsiblity requires changing the laws.
Does anyone know?