Republicans Gearing Up for Earmark Showdown With Democrats
By Congressman Jeb Hensarling - Posted in Congress
Two weeks ago, the Republican Conference – under the leadership of Congressman John Boehner – adopted several self-imposed guidelines to begin reforming the broken down earmark process. Though I believe that as Republicans we need to go even further by adopting a full year long earmarking moratorium while significantly changing the earmarking system as we know it today, our House Republican leaders deserve credit for making earmark reform a top priority.
Conservatives consistently make the case that the earmarking process has too often lent itself to the triumph of seniority over merit, secrecy over transparency, and the special interest over the national interest. And though I am disappointed by the refusal of Democrats to work with Republicans to fix the broken earmark system, I can’t say that I am shocked by it. Are you?
When it comes to earmarks, Democrats seem to be eating their pork from two different troughs. They failed to live up to a promise to cut the number of taxpayer funded earmarks in half. Democrats broke another promise to bring greater transparency to the process and instead attempted to keep earmarks hidden from the view of the taxpayers who pay for them. Not to be outdone by her caucus, Speaker Pelosi tells reporters that she’d personally get rid of all earmarks while remaining one of the largest earmarkers in the House – and that is saying something.
People see earmarks as the poster children of fiscal irresponsibility, the kissing cousin to unethical behavior, and an all too frequent enabler of unlawful acts. Worse, the emerging pattern of campaign donations coming in one door and taxpayer funded earmarks going out of the other is nothing short of corrupt.
Despite their abysmal approval ratings, it is clear that Democrats are satisfied with business as usual in Washington. At a time when families across America are tightening their belts, it is an utter embarrassment for some in Congress to continue to waste taxpayer money on monuments to themselves, lobster institutes, and hippie museums. On behalf of each of you, your families, and taxpayers across the country, we pledge to use every method at our disposal to bring the broken earmark process to an immediate halt.
redstate.com |
