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Comments from an AP history
and government teacher in Raleigh, NC.
e-mail betsynewmark AT gmail.com
Commissions earned from selling items through Amazon will go towards buying materials for my classes. Thank you.
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Sunday, June 03, 2007
Democrats not "Obey-ing" own rules
Remember all that pontificating that Democrats did about how they were going to clean up the House and make sure that it was run openly and transparently. They were going to reverse all that those corrupt Republicans had been doing regarding earmarks and pork. Well, surprise, suprise, Gomer. They're going back on their words.After promising unprecedented openness regarding Congress' pork barrel practices, House Democrats are moving in the opposite direction as they draw up spending bills for the upcoming budget year.So, Obey can't discipline members to cut down on their earmark requests and the staff can't do their jobs in time.
Democrats are sidestepping rules approved their first day in power in January to clearly identify "earmarks" - lawmakers' requests for specific projects and contracts for their states.
Rather than including specific pet projects, grants and contracts in legislation as it is being written, Democrats are following an order by the House Appropriations Committee chairman to keep the bills free of such earmarks until it is too late for critics to effectively challenge them.
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., says those requests for dams, community grants and research contracts for favored universities or hospitals will be added to spending measures in the fall. That is when House and Senate negotiators assemble final bills.
Such requests total billions of dollars.
As a result, most lawmakers will not get a chance to oppose specific projects as wasteful or questionable when the spending bills for various agencies get their first votes in the full House in June.
The House-Senate compromise bills due for final action in September cannot be amended and are subject to only one hour of debate, precluding challenges to individual projects.
Obey insists he is reluctantly taking the step because Appropriations Committee members and staff have not had enough time to fully review the 36,000 earmark requests that have flooded the committee.
What Obey is doing runs counter to new rules that Democrats promised would make such spending decisions more open.
Hmmm, have we heard this before? Yup, remember the Republicans who ran in 1994 about changing how Congress worked and cutting back on pork. Well, that didn't happen either. And I would make another bet. Republicans will run in 2008 charging the Democrats with not being open and not obeying their own rules. And if the Republicans somehow took over Congress, they too would fall into the same disappointing pattern. Congress can't discipline itself. They write their own rules and attach no penalty for breaking them.
If voters really cared, we'd vote against any politician who was providing pork for our districts. If getting earmarks and pork was a path to losing election, they wouldn't do it. But voters might say they don't like pork, but they seem to enjoy getting it for their hometowns. And so the politicians will keep breaking their own campaign pledges. And we'll keep seeing headlines like this no matter which party is in control.Labels: Congress
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Remember all that pontificating that Democrats did about how they were going to clean up the House and make sure that it was run openly and transparently. They were going to reverse all that those corrupt Republicans had been doing regarding earmarks and pork. Well, surprise, suprise, Gomer. They're going back on their words.
Hmmm, have we heard this before? Yup, remember the Republicans who ran in 1994 about changing how Congress worked and cutting back on pork. Well, that didn't happen either. And I would make another bet. Republicans will run in 2008 charging the Democrats with not being open and not obeying their own rules. And if the Republicans somehow took over Congress, they too would fall into the same disappointing pattern. Congress can't discipline itself. They write their own rules and attach no penalty for breaking them.
If voters really cared, we'd vote against any politician who was providing pork for our districts. If getting earmarks and pork was a path to losing election, they wouldn't do it. But voters might say they don't like pork, but they seem to enjoy getting it for their hometowns. And so the politicians will keep breaking their own campaign pledges. And we'll keep seeing headlines like this no matter which party is in control.
0 comments
Remember all that pontificating that Democrats did about how they were going to clean up the House and make sure that it was run openly and transparently. They were going to reverse all that those corrupt Republicans had been doing regarding earmarks and pork. Well, surprise, suprise, Gomer. They're going back on their words.
After promising unprecedented openness regarding Congress' pork barrel practices, House Democrats are moving in the opposite direction as they draw up spending bills for the upcoming budget year.So, Obey can't discipline members to cut down on their earmark requests and the staff can't do their jobs in time.
Democrats are sidestepping rules approved their first day in power in January to clearly identify "earmarks" - lawmakers' requests for specific projects and contracts for their states.
Rather than including specific pet projects, grants and contracts in legislation as it is being written, Democrats are following an order by the House Appropriations Committee chairman to keep the bills free of such earmarks until it is too late for critics to effectively challenge them.
Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., says those requests for dams, community grants and research contracts for favored universities or hospitals will be added to spending measures in the fall. That is when House and Senate negotiators assemble final bills.
Such requests total billions of dollars.
As a result, most lawmakers will not get a chance to oppose specific projects as wasteful or questionable when the spending bills for various agencies get their first votes in the full House in June.
The House-Senate compromise bills due for final action in September cannot be amended and are subject to only one hour of debate, precluding challenges to individual projects.
Obey insists he is reluctantly taking the step because Appropriations Committee members and staff have not had enough time to fully review the 36,000 earmark requests that have flooded the committee.
What Obey is doing runs counter to new rules that Democrats promised would make such spending decisions more open.
Hmmm, have we heard this before? Yup, remember the Republicans who ran in 1994 about changing how Congress worked and cutting back on pork. Well, that didn't happen either. And I would make another bet. Republicans will run in 2008 charging the Democrats with not being open and not obeying their own rules. And if the Republicans somehow took over Congress, they too would fall into the same disappointing pattern. Congress can't discipline itself. They write their own rules and attach no penalty for breaking them.
If voters really cared, we'd vote against any politician who was providing pork for our districts. If getting earmarks and pork was a path to losing election, they wouldn't do it. But voters might say they don't like pork, but they seem to enjoy getting it for their hometowns. And so the politicians will keep breaking their own campaign pledges. And we'll keep seeing headlines like this no matter which party is in control.
Labels: Congress
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