Democratic senator, McCaskill, finds House defense bill riddled with earmarks
WASHINGTON — House Republicans banned earmarks, a top symbol of congressional profligacy, after they won control of the chamber last fall in a wave of voter anger over excessive government spending.
But more than half of the amendments to this year's House Department of Defense authorization bill were earmarks, according to Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, a leading congressional critic of the practice.
In a report to be released this week, McCaskill said that the House Armed Services Committee's chairman, Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., set up a system that enabled members to "circumvent the earmark ban" by offering pre-approved amendments that outlined the projects and the funds they hoped to secure for their districts.
While the committee said the projects described in the amendments were competitive, unlike earmarks, the sponsors were often lawmakers who had requested similar earmarks in the past. Moreover, some of them touted the projects in the amendments as boons for their districts or states as soon as the House of Representatives passed the bill.
In addition, the report said, "These amendments were subsequently adopted in large groups with little or no debate" or public disclosure.
Weeellllll..... I'm so glad that they banned those nasty earmarks to curb "excessive government spending." But never underestimate the creativity of the GOP to defeat their public policy gestures and revert back to their standard hypocrisy.
Weeellllll..... I'm so glad that they banned those nasty earmarks to curb "excessive government spending." But never underestimate the creativity of the GOP to defeat their public policy gestures and revert back to their standard hypocrisy.
Never underestimate the creativity of the corrupt Political Class to grab prestige, money and power and to pass that around to their special interests and the crony capitalist. It's a nonpartisan f'king we are getting. I can go tit-for-tat showing you how ALL sides in Washington are playing by the same game plan. As long as you're on their team as a partisan useful idiot, you are as much a part of the problem as they are.
I bet Dems are covered too. they have to get the same bill through the Dem dominated Senate. That is if Harry Reid lets any bill reach the Senate floor.
Latest victim of the do-nothing Reid Senate? The national concealed carry reciprocity bill.
I hope the NRA takes their endorsement from him over this.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Yeah - those pesky earmarks. Telling the executive branch that $12 Billion of the funds must go towards the procurement of X number of MP4 weapons qualifies as an earmark, doesn't it, since it specifies exactly how those funds are to be spent. We should just trust the current executive and his band of merry tax evaders and regulators, otherwise known as cabinet members and czars, to determine where the money appropriated for defense by Congress should be spent, right?
God, I could sit and watch Republican hypocrisy for hours...
House Republicans banned earmarks, a top symbol of congressional profligacy, after they won control of the chamber last fall in a wave of voter anger over excessive government spending.
Yep, "the current executive" must be at fault for forcing those Republicans to look for ways around their own ban. They're at fault for everything else from ingrown toenails, to making Newt Gingrich cheat on his previous wives... rofllol
"These amendments were subsequently adopted in large groups with little or no debate" or public disclosure.
The money to offset the costs of the amendments came from a "special fund" McKeon created by taking money from other defense accounts, according to the report, but which was "not dedicated to any clear defense spending priorities."
So there's no oversight on whether these amendments cover things that are truly needed, they funding is coming from money that's just "lying around" - how about putting that toward the debt, or fixing our infrastructure, or restoring funding to some useful program that's had to be cut? I'm sick of the waste.
We'll hold this line until Hell freezes over --Then we'll hold it on ice skates.-Anonymous picket sign
Couldn’t, wouldn’t, mustn’t, shouldn’t – these are the laments of the spineless. –Bette Davis
Feminist. We Just Call Out Bulls**t Where We See It.
Weeellllll..... I'm so glad that they banned those nasty earmarks to curb "excessive government spending." But never underestimate the creativity of the GOP to defeat their public policy gestures and revert back to their standard hypocrisy.
Never underestimate the creativity of the corrupt Political Class to grab prestige, money and power and to pass that around to their special interests and the crony capitalist. It's a nonpartisan f'king we are getting. I can go tit-for-tat showing you how ALL sides in Washington are playing by the same game plan. As long as you're on their team as a partisan useful idiot, you are as much a part of the problem as they are.
as was stated above this is not a Republican issue it is a congressional issue. The link shows that 70 million dollars worth of earmarks in the 43.9 billion dollar Homeland Security funding bill, of the 70 mil, all went to democrats except 800,000.00
They are all guilty.
This link will give you somewhat of a breakdown, of the ear marks
