CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
– APPROPRIATIONS
March 11, 2009 – 3:25 p.m.
House Leaders, Obama Tighten Earmark Process
By David Clarke, CQ Staff
President Obama and House Democratic leaders attempted to push back Wednesday against complaints from Republicans — and some in their own party — about the earmarking process by laying out some procedural changes.
Obama announced his proposals on the day he signed into law a $410 billion spending bill that has reignited the debate over earmarks. Not to be outdone, House Democratic leaders announced shortly before Obama spoke at the White House that they are imposing new restrictions on the process for obtaining appropriations earmarks.
The proposals focus on making more information about requests available to the public and opening up earmarks secured for private companies to competition.
But Republican critics of earmarks, led by Obama’s presidential campaign rival, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, dismissed the new moves as hollow. And Senate Democratic leaders did not embrace the specifics laid out by Obama and their House counterparts.
“The president’s rhetoric is impressive, but his statement affirms we will continue to do business as usual in Washington regarding earmarks in appropriations legislation,” McCain said in a statement. “The president could have resolved this issue in one statement — no more unauthorized pork barrel projects — and pledged to use his veto pen to stop them. This is an opportunity missed.”
Senate Democratic leaders, in a statement issued hours after Obama and House leaders had spoken, were cool to Obama’s speech, saying they have already taken steps “to ensure the American people can be confident in how their government operates.” They promised to work with Obama and “our colleagues in Congress to explore additional reforms.”
The fiscal 2009 omnibus bill (
The White House has tried to distance itself from the omnibus bill, arguing it is last year’s business and saying the president would sign it simply so the government can move on to next year’s budget.
“I am signing an imperfect omnibus bill because it is necessary for the ongoing functions of government,” Obama said. “But I also view this as a departure point for more far-reaching change.”
Republicans had urged Obama to veto the omnibus, but the president defended most of the spending in the measure and added, “I also find it ironic that some of those who railed the loudest against this bill because of earmarks actually inserted earmarks of their own — and will tout them in their own states and districts.”
Obama outlined the following principles for an earmark process:
• Members’ earmark requests should be posted on their Web sites.
• There should be public hearings on earmark requests “where members will have to justify their expense to the taxpayer.”
• Any earmark for a for-profit company would have to be competitively bid.
“If my administration evaluates an earmark and determines that it has no legitimate public purpose, we will seek to eliminate it, and we will work with Congress to do so,” he said.
Congressional Moves
The House and Senate Appropriations panels already announced this year that members would have to post requests on their Web sites. They also announced a plan to limit the growth of earmarks by keeping the amount of funding devoted to the projects to less than 1 percent of overall discretionary spending.
House Democratic leaders announced further changes to the earmarking process Wednesday.
They said that executive agencies would be given 20 days to review an earmark request after it is made “to ensure that the earmark is eligible to receive funds and meets goals established in law.”
They also echoed Obama’s call to require competitive bidding on earmarks targeted to for-profit companies.
“The awarding of earmarks to private companies is the single most corrupting element of this practice, as witnessed by some of the indictments and convictions we have seen,” Obama said. “Private companies differ from the public entities that Americans rely on every day — schools, police stations, fire departments — and if they are seeking taxpayer dollars, then they should be evaluated with a higher level of scrutiny.”
Later in the day, Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye , D-Hawaii, took a slightly different approach, saying his committee also would “work to ensure that congressional earmarks for private companies are subject to the same rules and regulations for competition as apply to items submitted as part of the president’s budget.”
He also made clear, however, that his panel was not going to cede any of its authority. “Others have suggested that our hard-working and well-meaning federal employees should be the ones to make all these decisions,” he said in a statement. “I could not disagree more. It is in the nature of a bureaucracy to be both risk averse and to support the status quo.”
Fractured GOP
Republicans in both chambers repeatedly charged that the $410 billion bill is filled with pork. McCain led the charge, calling on the new president to veto the bill in sometimes angry floor speeches.
But the anti-earmark rhetoric of Republicans did not mask the fact that 40 percent of the funding set-asides in the bill for these mostly parochial projects were requested by Republicans. The GOP also presided over a major proliferation of earmarks when it controlled Congress.
Republicans in both chambers, but especially the House, are divided over the issue. One camp would like to do away with them entirely, arguing that the increase in earmarks during the 12 years that Republicans controlled Congress was a leading reason why they are now in the minority. Other GOP members say they have an obligation to look out for their own districts and states and it would be foolish to abandon the process if Democrats continue to seek earmarks.
House GOP leaders have railed against earmarks, but their Senate counterparts have been reluctant to do so, since some of them have served on the Appropriations Committee and request funding for projects in their states.
At a joint news conference Wednesday afternoon, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., were asked about the president’s proposal.
Boehner, who doesn’t request earmarks, said, “The president missed a golden opportunity today to really fulfill his campaign commitment to not sign bills that have a lot of wasteful spending and are overburdened with earmarks.”
McConnell, who does request earmarks, criticized the overall size of the omnibus without directly answering the question.
Democratic leaders in both chambers are clearly growing tired of the debate over earmarks and the attention it gets. House Appropriations Chairman David R. Obey , D-Wis., argues that the debate over earmarks has become a distraction that takes attention away from the overall work being done by his committee, noting earmarks make up about 1 percent of the discretionary budget.
Obey declined Wednesday to discuss the issue when sought out by reporters outside his office. Instead he sent his staff in to retrieve two press releases to be distributed — one announcing the changes to the process and one complaining that amid the “hyperventilating,” little attention has been given to the spending in the omnibus that goes to such things as food safety, low-income housing programs and education programs.
He then went into his office and told reporters to let him know when they want to discuss “substantive” issues.
Bart Jansen contributed to this story.
Comments
How do we spell Hypocrisy? OBAMA!! At what point does this get questioned by the media? What happened to journalism?
"The administration has not been involved in writing the omnibus at all," White House Budget Director Peter R. Orszag told the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday. With this admission, has the Obama Administration abdicated its Constitutional responsibilities to the Legislative Branch?
What's the use of curtailing earmarks, when the Democratic leadership forces unmentionable amounts of money from Taxpayers, to pay for the welfare of illegal aliens who invaded this nation? All spending bills in the Stimulus or Omnibus bill to assist jobless American Workers seem insignificant, when Democratic leaders left in a giant loophole so millions of ILLEGAL ALIENS can steal jobs? REMEMBER THESE NAMES..? Sen.Harry Reid (D-NV) arch enemy of American workers, committed the ultimate sin today Reid and 49 Democrats blocked E-Verify in the Senate. Their disloyal actions shall be well remembered, when the grovel for re-election. They condemned hundreds of thousands in the construction industry, having to compete over jobs. Parasites are organisms that live of a host and that is what contractors will do, when they look for the cheapest labor they can find. Starting with the stimulus, then followed by the Omnibus spending plan this Senators blocked E-Verify. Akaka (D-HI) Inouye (D-HI),Begich (D-AK),Bennet (D-CO) Udall (D-CO),Bingaman (D-NM) Udall(D-NM),Boxer (D-CA) Feinstein (D-CA),Brown (D-OH),Burris (D-IL) Durbin (D-IL),Byrd (D-WV) Rockefeller (D-WV),Cantwell (D-WA) Murray,(D-WA),Cardin (D-MD) Mikulski (D-MD),Carper (D-DE) Kaufman (D-DE),Casey (D-PA),Conrad (D-ND) Dorgan (D-ND),Dodd (D-CT) Lieberman. Here's more Senators who killed E-Verify Here's more (ID-CT),Feingold (D-WI) Kohl (D-WI),Gillibrand (D-NY) Schumer (D-NY),Hagan (D-NC),Harkin (D-IA),Johnson (D-SD),Kerry (D-MA),Landrieu (D-LA),Shaheen (D-NH),Leahy (D-VT) Sanders (I-VT),Levin (D-MI) Stabenow (D-MI),Lincoln (D-AR) Pryor (D-AR),Menendez (D-NJ) Lautenberg (D-NJ),Merkley (D-OR) Wyden (D-OR),Nelson (D-FL),Reed (D-RI) Whitehouse (D-RI),Reid (D-NV) and Warner (D-VA). They sold the American Worker out for campaign money from corporate lobbyists and open border fanatics. In this miserable time of unemployment and uncertainty from the janitor, to the computer programmer you will be REMEMBERED. You will not escape your insult to the American worker, who depends on your honesty to vote on their behalf. You have now proved the dimensions of how far you will go, to keep the illegal alien invasion crossing our borders, overstaying their ship or plane visa. The corruption so deeply instilled in the Washington elite. ASK JUDICIALWATCH? The billions of tax dollars taken from every, man, woman and child, to support the welfare of illegal aliens. Like Pearl harbor we will not forget the traitors who swore to uphold their allegiance to THE PEOPLE.
The term earmark is far too broad. One of the things law-makers do, particularly Congressmen, is bring federal money home to their districts. It is also a necessary bit of politicking when votes are needed. I think that every Senator and Representative should be allowed a certain amount of discretionary spending for earmarks, based on seniority. They will then have to set priorities in their spending.
Democrats are using media intervention to voice out their freaking ideas. Obama outlined the following principles for an earmark process: • Members' earmark requests should be posted on their Web sites. • There should be public hearings on earmark requests "where members will have to justify their expense to the taxpayer." Add it on the list Mr. President. - There should be a private investigation against newly picked democrat 20th congressional candidate for refusing to accept his responsibility as a tax payer. - There should be a transparency against the Stimulus Bill. - STOP CONSPIRACY Scott Murphy for Congress Tax Liens
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