Earmarks: Hero or Hooligan?

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Here at The Western Word, I’ve followed the earmark issue for a number of years. In the last few years the spending in Congress has gotten out of control. Sure, the GOP spent a lot of money prior to the Democratic take-over of Congress in 2007, but nothing compares to what the Democrats have spent since then.

I think it’s important to cut the spending and saving about $15 – $20 billion per year from earmarks is a good start.

In the past, politicians sending out press releases touting the amount of money they obtained through earmarks was a way for them to show their clout in Washington. Today that same press release will be frowned upon because frankly we don’t have the money – it’s like we are maxing out our credit cards and our credit is about shot.

Most people in Montana want to see earmarks banned. There have been a few polls (not scientific) in local newspapers across the state where 70-80% of those responding said they wanted to see a ban on earmarks.

Congressman Denny Rehberg got the message. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester have not.

I smiled when I discovered that Taxpayers Against Earmarks has launched a new interactive website about earmarks. Constituents across the country can use this handy tool when they meet their elected officials.

According to this STORY in Politico:

In total, the new database – which was developed by Taxpayers Against Earmarks, Taxpayers for Common Sense and WashingtonWatch.com – showed that House members and senators from both parties asked for 39,294 earmarks worth an eye-popping $131 billion.

The number only represents the amount requested by lawmakers – not the amount that actually makes it into legislation, which has hovered around $16 billion annually in recent years.

The website also shows which members of Congress are deemed Heroes or Hooligans:

“Hooligans” are those who, despite the public outcry over earmarks, refuse to stop requesting earmarks.

To be a “Hero,” a Member must have: (1) refrained from requesting any earmarks this year OR (2) pledged to refrain from requesting earmarks in future years, as a majority of the members of the House and Senate Republican Conferences have recently done.

In Montana, Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester have received the “Hooligan” award. For example (according to the website) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Max Baucus requested $712,932,345 in earmarks and Jon Tester requested $690,465,734 (click on their names for data). Readers may remember that Tester, as a candidate in 2006, said he was against earmarks, period. My how times have changed and that was quite apparent when Tester and Baucus both voted to continue earmarks just last week.

Congressman Denny Rehberg has received the “Hero” award from the website. Rehberg recently voted to ban earmarks for the next two years.

Congratulations to Rehberg. Since this is the Christmas season, maybe a lump of coal in the stockings of Baucus and Tester would be a great gift…

4 thoughts on “Earmarks: Hero or Hooligan?”

  1. Read the damn article:

    Since earmarks are simply provisions of larger spending bills that direct where lawmakers want the money to go, earmarks, strictly speaking, do not increase the cost of a spending bill — they only tell where portions of that spending should go. If Congress doesn’t specify where the money should be spent, it would be up to executive branch officials to make the decision instead.

    Joshua Gordon, policy director at the Concord Coalition, a group that favors balanced budgets and reducing the national debt, calls Lugar’s statement “accurate.”

    “The moratoriums would not save any money,” Gordon said. “They just change who is allowed to direct where money is spent.”

    • Since the Exec Branch (The President) has said he favors the Republicans ban on earmarks, they can easily cut the 16 or so Billion they plan on spending much easier. Thanks for stopping by….JtB

    • $16 billion may not seem like a lot to some, but I come from the angle that any savings, even the sacred cow called earmarks, helps. As I said it’s a start! Thanks for visiting. -Jack

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