Pressure is mounting on the White House do something about the nearly 12,000 earmarks included in this year’s appropriations bills. Today the Wall Street Journal editorial page weighs in again with a plea for President Bush to act.
Our suggestion is that Mr. Bush instruct his cabinet not to spend money on earmarks that aren’t specifically mentioned in the language of the spending bill. Most are listed in accompanying Appropriations Committee reports that lack the force of law. The point of this Congressional ruse, in part, is to let Members “air-drop” earmarks at the last minute and thus escape scrutiny by other Members who might try to expose their “Bridges to Nowhere” on the House or Senate floor. Mr. Bush assailed this habit in this year’s State of the Union address, and the Members cheered. So why not force Congress to live up to its applause?
Some in the White House fear that such a move would sour relations with Congress, including GOP leaders who love their earmarks as much as Democrats do. We hear that senior Republicans, especially in the Senate, have told the White House that if Mr. Bush refuses to fund these earmarks, he will be courting retribution. There’s a reason no Members will make this threat in public, however. They know how unpopular earmarking is with the voting public.
The Heritage Foundation’s Brian Riedl has outlined three specific steps Bush could take: canceling non-binding earmarks by executive order, refusing to implement earmarks that are not sufficiently specific, and banning “phone-marking.”
Will the White House get the message?
1 response so far ↓
Support Grows for Executive Order Halting Earmarks « Omnibusting: Omnibus Spending Bill, Earmarks, Pork and Budget Gimmicks // December 27, 2007 at 12:57 pm
[...] Wall Street Journal: Our suggestion is that Mr. Bush instruct his cabinet not to spend money on earmarks that aren’t specifically mentioned in the language of the spending bill. Most are listed in accompanying Appropriations Committee reports that lack the force of law. The point of this Congressional ruse, in part, is to let Members “air-drop” earmarks at the last minute and thus escape scrutiny by other Members who might try to expose their “Bridges to Nowhere” on the House or Senate floor. Mr. Bush assailed this habit in this year’s State of the Union address, and the Members cheered. So why not force Congress to live up to its applause? [...]
You must be logged in to post a comment.