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Earmarks

Last week, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Tom Coburn sent this "Dear Colleague" letter

DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER FROM SENATORS COBURN AND MCCAIN ON EARMARKS
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006

Dear Colleague:

As you know, the American people are currently engaged in a vigorous debate about our country’s spending priorities. Many are openly discussing the propriety of earmarks and legislative policy provisions inserted into appropriations bills at the direction of individual lawmakers. We believe that the process of earmarking undermines the confidence of the American public in Congress because the practice is not open, fair, or competitive and tends to reward the politically well-connected.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the number of earmarks has skyrocketed over the past decade, from 4,126 in 1994 to 15,268 in 2005. We are committed to doing all we can to halt this egregious earmarking practice and plan to challenge future legislative earmarks that come to the Senate floor. This will give all Senators the opportunity to learn the merits of proposed earmarked projects and affirm or reject them. Even though votes on earmarks will undoubtedly be quite time-consuming, we sincerely believe that American taxpayers are entitled to a more thorough debate and disclosure about how their money is being spent.

We also believe that it is wrong to violate Senate Rules by inserting new provisions that are not included in either a Senate or House bill into conference reports at the last minute. The unsavory practice of inserting such provisions at the last minute stifles debate and empowers well-heeled lobbyists at the expense of those who cannot afford access to power. Decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent should not be made in the dark, behind closed doors. Therefore, we also plan to challenge future violations of Senate Rules, and, as necessary, we will offer proposals to strengthen current Senate Rules in order to increase transparency and accountability in the expenditure of taxpayer dollars.

While we know that this course of action may not be popular in Washington, D.C., we believe that it is the right thing to do. We look forward to working with you over the next year, and we hope that you will join us in a spirited debate about the direction of our country.

Sincerely,


Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. Senator John McCain

And here is Kim Strassel's take:

Mr. McCain and House Republican Jeff Flake have already introduced a bill that would require more "sunshine" in the earmarking process, obliging Congress to produce a list of every earmark in the text of legislation. If these attempts fail, the senators from Arizona and Oklahoma say they will pursue their ends by other means. For instance, one concern is that porkers will seek to bypass any increased legislative scrutiny by inserting earmarks directly into Senate-House conference reports at the last minute. If this happens, the duo say they will challenge such earmarks as violations of Senate rules and insist that House-Senate conference procedures be updated to allow greater transparency.

"Who You Gonna Call?" by Kim Strassel, OpinionJournals' Political Diary, February 1, 2006

More

• Porkbusters
• Porkbusters - from Wikipedia
• "PorkBusters Fight Goes To Senate Floor," Beltway Blogroll, October 20, 2005
• "Sen. Coburn's PorkBusters Stamp Of Approval," Beltway Blogroll, December 8, 2005
• "Porkbusters Coalition began in 1991 as a bi-partisan congressional group pledged to fight waste in government spending."
• Technorati Tag: porkbusters
• We are offering a course about earmarks on March, 29, 2006, "Earmarks: Everything You Need to Know."

February 2, 2006 06:07 AM    Legislative Process