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$900 million. That's how much Congress spent on earmarks, or state pet projects, last year. Your and mine hard earned money going towards projects such as textile research in North Carolina, tattoo removal in California, and fish management in Alabama. For the 2010 fiscal year, the federal budget included $16.5 billion in state projects. Again, 16.5 billion dollars. The biggest offenders, according to Citizen's Against Government Waste, were Thad Cochran (R- Mississippi) and Daniel Inouye (D- Hawaii). Cochran, the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, had his name on 240 projects totaling $490 million. Inouye, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, had 151 projects totaling $387 million.
Thad Cochran (R- Mississippi)
Daniel Inouye(D- Hawaii)
The good news (if there is any)? Earmarks are down from last year by ten percent. But, earmarks are still fifteen times larger than in 1991. Among some of the pet projects included in this years budget are funding for shrimp/fishing research, potato research, pickle science (excuse me while I laugh), wool research, anti-drug school programs, local museums, and military projects that even the Pentagon rejected. Defense Secretary Robert Gates even spoke out against the large amount of funding the Pentagon received, stating it was "unnecessary".
Some lawmakers are trying to stop earmarks. Republicans in Congress proposed banning earmarks all together but the bill failed. Democrats proposed a bill against earmarks but only banned corporations. Again, the bill failed.
"I think it's a very admirable goal for the GOP to take a complete earmark moratorium. Enforcing it is going to be an issue," said Leslie Paige from Citizens Against Government Waste. "Ultimately," she said, "it's going to be up to taxpayers — if they don't like it, they are going to make those feelings known to Congress.
Common Sense- The amount of money that Congress spends on earmarks is both amazing and disgusting. I don't know where Mr. Cochran and Mr. Inouye think they have the right to ask for such money. Maybe they think they deserve it for serving on the Appropriations Committee. But it is not just them. It is all of our representatives, on both sides of the aisle, that continue to request money for state projects that are, in most cases, absolutely ridiculous. Pickle research? Are you serious? You know things are pretty bad when the Secretary of Defense tells you that the money you are trying to give him is "unnecessary". It's time we tell Congress, Republicans and Democrats, to stop the ridiculous spending on state projects. Please write your representatives and ask them to stop the pork barrel legislation!
These earmarks are part of ongoing efforts by both parties to buy their re-elections. The real problem is that We the People allow this nonsense to continue because one man's pork is anothers paycheck. That attitude has to stop.
ReplyDeleteWe the Bloggers need to teach the voters that Washington DC was not meant to be a giant feeding trough nor a Grand Central Station for wealth transfer.
These earmarks - pork - vote buying schemes, whatever you call them, are corruption and theft. We the People need to vote the offenders out of office no matter their party affiliation.