11 March 2009
Twitter / SenJohnMcCain and earmarks
Senator John McCain twittered last night: "did you know in 1991 there were 546 earmarks in appropriations bills - today, nearly 9,000"
The last couple of years saw the height of anti-earmark rhetoric in the public and the press, and it seemed with both sides arguing for reform in the 2008 elections that we might see some changes.
While I support many of the programs that would be funded by federal earmarks, I'm quite sure there would be a better way to fund them than this process.
It seems like bills should be voted on according to a defined set of initiatives and principles, rather than a hodgepodge of tacked-on amendments to specific pet projects of MoCs and their constituents. Then a MoC could be held accountable for their vote on a bill that allowed, say, tens of thousands to a gang-prevention program in South Carolina, rather than being able to have the excuse that it was part of a larger bill and that's what they felt they were voting on.
Also, it would seem more efficient if the State or Local authority could tax and spend on some projects that are primarily local in scope, rather than funneling money to the federal government and then back out to local needs.
There's a lot more to be said on this, and I hope Obama and others who pledged a reformation of the federal processes holds true to their promises and works with MoCs like McCain to make the system work better.
The last couple of years saw the height of anti-earmark rhetoric in the public and the press, and it seemed with both sides arguing for reform in the 2008 elections that we might see some changes.
While I support many of the programs that would be funded by federal earmarks, I'm quite sure there would be a better way to fund them than this process.
It seems like bills should be voted on according to a defined set of initiatives and principles, rather than a hodgepodge of tacked-on amendments to specific pet projects of MoCs and their constituents. Then a MoC could be held accountable for their vote on a bill that allowed, say, tens of thousands to a gang-prevention program in South Carolina, rather than being able to have the excuse that it was part of a larger bill and that's what they felt they were voting on.
Also, it would seem more efficient if the State or Local authority could tax and spend on some projects that are primarily local in scope, rather than funneling money to the federal government and then back out to local needs.
There's a lot more to be said on this, and I hope Obama and others who pledged a reformation of the federal processes holds true to their promises and works with MoCs like McCain to make the system work better.
