A Good Day for the Merry Earmark Warriors

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A Good Day for the Merry Earmark Warriors

A Good Day for the Merry Earmark Warriors

February 12, 2008 11:12 pm Budget and Spending

House Republicans scored a significant victory in their war on earmarks today when influential Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, broke with party leaders to call for an immediate moratorium on earmarks in 2009 spending bills.

I think our best approach would be to suspend all earmarks for the 2009 appropriations cycle while we consider the right reforms for the earmark process. As a result, I will not submit any requests to the Appropriations Committee for this fiscal year. I look forward, however, to working with Chairman Obey, Speaker Pelosi, and all my colleagues on improving the earmark process.

Waxman’s statement is significant because he holds an important House committee post and is considered a trusted lieutenant of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Although a couple Senate Democrats have vowed to give up earmarks, Waxman becomes the first Democrat in the House to make the pledge. The Club for Growth puts the number at 22 representatives and six senators who have sworn off earmarks. By party breakdown, it’s 25 Republicans and 3 Democrats.

Waxman’s announcement comes on the same day Republicans ratcheted up their messaging campaign against earmarks. House Minority Leader John Boehner launched a congressionally sanction website on earmark reform, featuring the latest news and information on pork-barrel spending.

Washington cannot be fixed until the earmarks are stopped. And this website will be a valuable tool in House Republicans’ fight to bring real change to a process that has undermined the public’s trust in their leaders in Congress. I am hopeful the Majority will join House Republicans in committing to real, meaningful reform, but in the meantime, this website will shine a spotlight on their broken promises and empty rhetoric on earmarks.

Members of the Republican Study Committee were meeting tonight to plot their next move. Although Boehner has pressed for Pelosi to institute an immediate earmark moratorium, many House conservatives want the entire GOP conference to swear off earmarks regardless of what Democrats do.

Rep. John Campbell, chairman of the RSC’s budget and spending task force, told bloggers at the Heritage Foundation today that he and the “band of merry earmark warriors” in the House wouldn’t shy away from criticizing Republicans who continued to request earmarks.

http://blog.heritage.org/2008/02/12/a-good...rmark-warriors/

McCain Calls on Republicans to Give Up Pet Projects

Following a closed-door meeting with House Republicans this morning, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told bloggers that he supports the immediate earmark moratorium proposed by Minority Leader John Boehner and other GOP leaders. McCain also reiterated his pledge to veto any bills that contain earmarks if he's elected president.

In response to a question from Rob Neppell, co-founder of Porkbusters, McCain outlined his views on the current earmark debate:

I think that if we had a moratorium on earmarks, it would be one of the most energizing things for our base. ... I think they would be overjoyed. Every town hall meeting, particularly Republican gatherings, you mention the “Bridge to Nowhere” and everybody knows it. It’s more famous than the Brooklyn Bridge.

I’m not telling [Republicans] what they should do, you know, I’m telling them what I would do. And I don’t pretend to dictate whatever my Republican colleagues do, but I’m trying to lead them in telling them that the earmarks and pork-barrel spending and corruption has harmed our base and reduced the enthusiasm for our party and our candidates, and the sooner as we fix it, I think the better off we’re gonna be.

McCain's statement followed yesterday's stunning news that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), a close confidant of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, would break ranks with the rest of his party's leadership to swear off earmarks this year.

Earmarks came up during McCain's meeting with the House GOP when Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling asked an earmark-related question, opening the door for McCain to talk about fiscal responsibility and wasteful government spending. McCain praised Hensarling for his efforts:

Jeb Hensarling mentioned this morning that he and a group of conservatives -- fiscal conservatives in the House -- have been working together to see if they can’t come up with some ideas and proposals. I fully support such a thing and hopefully we can work together with them and others in the House and the Senate recognizing that there are some who will never agree.

Waxman's decision to swear off earmarks makes him the 28th member of Congress to do so. That includes 22 representatives and six senators. Twenty-five of the 28 are Republicans.

LINK

McCain Says Earmark Moratorium Would "Energize" the GOP Base

Written by Rob Neppell aka NZ Bear Wednesday, 13 February 2008 16:58

Just got off a blogger conference call with Senator McCain. My friend Rob Bluey beat me to the punch with the first earmark question, and Senator McCain reiterated the statement he made at CPAC that we "will veto any bill that has earmarks in it."

I followed up later in the call and asked the Senator whether he believes that a unilateral earmark moratorium would be a winning election strategy for House and Senate Republicans. His response:

"I think that if we had a moratorium on earmarks it would be one of the most energizing things for our base they could hear. I think they'd be overjoyed... [The Bridge To Nowhere] is more famous than the Brooklyn Bridge."

Senator McCain took pains to be clear that he was not demanding action from Congress, saying "I'm not telling them what to do, I'm telling them what I would do... I'm trying to lead them in telling them that the earmark spending ... has reduced [the base's] enthusiasm."

As my partner-in-crime would say: Indeed.

He concluded by mentioning that Jeb Hensarling and others are currently working on another earmark reform proposal that he would support fully, so hopefully we'll be hearing more about that soon...

PORK BUSTERS

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Wait a minute. A Republican Congress was the biggest reason for the catastrophic run-up in spending from 2001-2006.

Now, you're telling me they've suddenly gotten religion? Do you really think they deserve a free pass here?

I don't think so. I'm just not that gullible or partisan.

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I don't think they deserve a free pass any more than I think dems should be considered fiscally responsible. At first I was thinking one of the most interesting points was "Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, broke with party leaders to call for an immediate moratorium on earmarks in 2009 spending bills." It was a little encouraging that he broke from the party decrees.

This being an election year it's hard to get excited about something like this since both sides will be doing anything to make it look like they give a crap about what most if not all people really want.