So much for the ban on earmarks!

Readers may remember how, in March 2010, with much fanfare and publicity, Republicans in the US House of Representatives imposed a moratorium on the use of 'earmarks' (a Congressional directive to spend money on a specific project). Earmarks have long been associated with 'pork barrel' politics, whereby an elected representative tries to obtain as much government money for his or her district as possible, in order to gain popularity and (hopefully) secure support and re-election.

Well, guess what? Looks like some of those same Republican congressmen have been playing shell games with our money. Citizens Against Government Waste has the details.

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) expressed indignation over the establishment by the House Armed Services Committee of the $1 billion Mission Force Enhancement Transfer Fund (MFET), a slush fund included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Members of the committee added 111 legislative provisions that will cost taxpayers $651.7 million; 59 of the add-ons, or 53 percent, appear to be similar to projects included as earmarks in CAGW’s 2010 Congressional Pig Book. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.) has claimed that the authorization bill contains no earmarks, and that the MFET was created in order to allow committee members to "move [defense] funding around to more important items". However, the MFET, which did not exist in the FY 2011 defense authorization bill, appears to be designed to allow members to secure pork for their districts without violating the congressional earmark moratorium.

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, "In the week leading up to Memorial Day, it was disappointing to discover that members of Congress, rather than considering the needs of the war fighter, were considering their re-election and using their power of the purse to create a new, underhanded way to send pork back home. The MFET threatens to take Congress five years backwards in terms of transparency, and it sets an alarming precedent for future authorizations and appropriations bills."

CAGW is analyzing the 111 provisions to match as many as possible to both specific earmarks from 2010 and to freshman members of the House.

. . .

"Luckily, Rep. Jeff Flake’s (R-Ariz.) amendment to eliminate the remaining $348.2 million from the MFET passed by a vote of 269-151 before anyone else could get their hands on it," added Schatz. "Regardless of what these new slush funds are called, if it looks like an earmark, taxpayers are going to consider it to be an earmark. If Republicans wish to retain their credibility on pork-barrel projects, House leaders must immediately inform every other House committee that schemes such as the MFET will not be tolerated. In addition, there should be complete transparency for any communication, such as letters and phone calls, from members of Congress to the Pentagon that are intended to influence where MFET money should be spent."

There's more at the link.

Congratulations and thanks to CAGW for exposing this hypocrisy. I can only hope that voters will remember this fiscal chicanery and self-seeking irresponsibility on the part of all the Congressional representatives concerned, and vote them out of office in 2012. Meanwhile, it's time for the tar, feathers and rail, methinks . . .

(Of course, that's not to deny that Democratic Party congressmen aren't just as guilty as their Republican counterparts of misusing earmarks, engaging in 'pork barrel' politics, and so on. Both major parties are as guilty as sin in that regard.)

Politicians! Grrr!





Peter