The banning of earmarks and politician’s beloved pork seems to be eminent and this is making some Democrats and Republicans very nervous. The extended and perhaps even permanent ban of earmarks could change the face of politics as we know it, especially in the realm of campaign financing. Without pet projects to entice the pocketbooks of contracting companies, lobbyists, and other interested parties; congressmen may have to begin considering the transparency of their votes.
As shown in our previous unit’s discussion, many representatives’ contributing constituents have a direct correlation with the committees the representatives sit upon and are involved with. This allows the representative to “slip in” funding bills for pet projects onto legislation being reviewed and edited in the committees before going to the floor for a vote. Much of the “pork” associated with a bill is completely irrelevant to the topic and means of the original legislation, so the “price-tag” of the bill is hidden in the small print and details. The votes of the representative often align more with the “stuffing” of the bill than the actual bill itself. Meaning, without the added incentive of pork, representatives will have to vote according to the “money” to secure the favor and benefits of their supporting constituents and not necessarily what the people want. With this continued and possible permanent banning of earmarks, it will be much easier to compare the voting record of the delegate to their financing record in order to find where the true loyalties of the representatives’ votes lie.
The other benefit of the ban is to cut frivolous and unchecked spending allowing congress to be more cognoscente of spending. This continued awareness of where the money is going will hopefully allow congress to stick to their budget goals. In fact, your representative’s vote on this ban will let you know exactly where your delegate’s loyalties lie: in the pocket books of campaign funding lobbyists and constituents or with the transparency and good of America. Write your congressman today to let them know you would like him/her to start being held accountable for their votes, campaign financing, true loyalties and that America supports and will benefit from a permanent ban on earmarks!
It is going to be very interesting to see how this all plays out on the hill. While I think this is definitely a step in the right direction for our government, I am curious to see whether or not it will actually result in the elimination of pork projects. Being this is being put forth as a rule rather than a law gives me the impression it is mere political grandstanding rather than a valid attempt to eliminate pork spending. After all, congress has the ability to change and decide when to and how to apply rules they create to govern themselves.
ReplyDeleteGiven our current fiscal state as a country, I think it is time that we rain in pork spending. I see it as a devious way for legislators to get funding passed that would have no chance of passage if it were to stand alone. Such tactics not only vastly add to the costs of bills but also lead to a lack of scrutiny and accountability. Rarely are these additions to bills ever publicized and rather often go unnoticed to the general public, unless of course you happen to be a benefactor of such spending.
I do beleive that the idea of providing funding for special projects is a neccasary job of the federal government, however they need to be legitimate projects that benefit the entire public not just members of select groups. I really would like to see special funding projects be placed on bills of there own, not just thrown in to some other, non relevant bill, where it will be overlooked. I do understand that combining certain spending projects onto one bill, however they should be of the same nature. I don't think thats possible without the passage of a law that requires such conduct. Therefore, I see this rule as more of a political ploy rather than a genuine attempt to reduce prok spending.
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