Today we’re pleased to bring you this Guest Commentary from Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield)…
We’re Not Waiting Any Longer to Bring Common Sense Earmark Reform to the House
By Congressman Kevin McCarthy
Enough is enough. People are fed up with Washington spending their tax dollars to pay for wasteful earmarked spending, like:
- $50 million to construct a man-made rainforest in Iowa
- $2 million for Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) to build a library in New York City to honor his Congressional career; his own “monument to me”
One year before becoming Speaker, Nancy Pelosi promised the American people that under her leadership, the House would “bring transparency and openness to the budget process and to the use of earmarks, we will give the American people the leadership they deserve.” The actual result: abuse after abuse of the earmark process continues in Congress and taxpayers are asked to foot the bill.
It’s time for real reform, and House Republicans are ready to lead. We have renewed the fight for fiscal accountability to bring real earmark reform to the House. Last week, a petition was filed in the House to force a vote on H. Res. 479, which would insist that all earmarks be subject to public scrutiny and challenge on the House floor. A real partnership should be formed with those that want earmark reform, regardless of party label, because taxpayer money is not sent to Washington so one political party can play politics with it. Taxpayer money is meant to invest in necessary government functions, like our military. By giving Congress the ability to vote on individual earmarks on the floor, we open the door for removing wasteful earmarks from all legislation.
Earlier this year, House Republicans united on behalf of the American taxpayer to bring accountability to government funding bills. We fought for this reform because some Congressmen wanted to slip wasteful earmarked spending into government funding bills behind closed doors. However, this reform only applies to government funding bills when there are two other types of bills that come before the House. We should apply earmark transparency rules to all bills (which H. Res. 479 accomplishes), or else the abuse will continue. Just recently, a health bill passed the House that would give additional money from Medicare to a hospital in a congressional district where a freshman Democrat Congressman faces a tough reelection. Rather than writing a provision that directly boosted payments for this hospital (and inevitably inviting scores of questions why that hospital was treated better than all others), the architects of that bill crafted a roundabout provision by treating the hospital in Marinette, Wisconsin (and yes, there is only one there) as if it were located in Chicago, Illinois. Why? Because Medicare payments in Chicago were higher. Only in Washington could one try to pass a Wisconsin hospital as really being in the Windy City. This earmark, paid for by taxpayers and older Americans, was never allowed to be challenged on the House floor.
The threat to more accountability is obstruction. Rank and file Democrats should put the politics of Nancy Pelosi and other members of their leadership aside and allow a decision that enhances transparency and accountability in Washington. Taxpayers demand no less. Let’s do our job by taking action!
[Publisher’s note – House Resolution 479 is an important step towards ending egregious earmarks. We here at the FR equate it to putting hi-tech cameras in the bank lobby, to enable us to clearly video who is robbing the bank. Of course, the next step is to go after the bank robbers, and stop them from robbing the bank! – Flash]
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