Sure, voters sent a message in November to stop reckless
spending. Yet the earmarking system that perpetuates the power of
incumbency, fosters a culture of dependency on government and
produced the infamous
”
Bridge to Nowhere
”
and influence-peddling scandals that sent some to prison, still
exists. Washington keeps borrowing and spending money we don’t have
on things we don’t need.
Sure, voters sent a message in November to stop reckless spending. Yet the earmarking system that perpetuates the power of incumbency, fosters a culture of dependency on government and produced the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” and influence-peddling scandals that sent some to prison, still exists. Washington keeps borrowing and spending money we don’t have on things we don’t need.
One example of controversial earmarks the new reform recently proposed by the Republican leadership would not touch is a nonprofit defense research center at Pennsylvania State University that collected nearly $250 million in earmarks, then channeled a significant portion of the funds to companies that were among Congressman John Murtha’s campaign supporters, according to the Sunlight Foundation, a government transparency blog.
Even more troubling could be the increase in “phone-marks” in place of earmarks. “Phone-marks” are the practice of lawmakers lobbying agencies to give money to particular organizations. Lawmaker lobbying could easily be instigated by an outside lobbyist or campaign contributor seeking funding for a pet project. And, of course, there is no transparency in this process.
There are earmarks that are so esoteric and limited that we understand the desire to ban them all. But, imagine a California legislator getting an earmark to finally complete the 50-year-old Llagas Creek Flood Control project. That would bring jobs to South County and fix the flooding that occurs downtown on a regular basis. That’s an example of a beneficial earmark, not one meant to reward supporters of a particular candidate.
What Congress really needs to do is pass real earmark reform; earmark reform that makes the process totally transparent and encoded in rules or laws. Committee imposed rules or bans can easily be changed or circumvented. Passing a resolution that includes transparency would allow people to see the earmarking process, instead of this head-fake move, just to see legislators taking the process underground.
Legislators are elected to represent their state. Bringing money and jobs home is part of their job. But it needs to be done above board, not under the table.
