Bowling Green Daily News: "Moratorium On Earmarks Is Necessary." I AGREE!
Moratorium on earmarks is necessary
Saturday, November 20, 2010 12:52 AM CST
While the billions spent by Congress on earmarks is small relative to the federal deficit, the message delivered by the earmarks moratorium adopted by the Republican caucuses in the House and Senate and a more limited ban by House Democrats is huge.
These actions signal that many lawmakers are now tuned in to the Election Day message sent by voters concerned over spiraling deficits and what they perceive as wasteful spending.
Earmarks, because they are commonly placed in spending legislation with limited vetting, have become symbols of wasteful spending to many. Well-published projects like the ill-conceived bridge to nowhere only reinforced this belief.
To be sure, our state, our region and Western Kentucky University have benefited from earmarks for useful projects and programs.
But at the heart of the earmark discussion is this underlying question: If Congress doesn’t have the political will to rein in earmarks, why would Americans have any confidence in their ability to make the even tougher decisions that will be necessary to reduce the deficit?
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a longtime earmarks supporter, deserves credit for changing his position, which helped ensure his caucus would support the moratorium.
His action demonstrated that he is far more in tune with voters than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who remains a defiant supporter of the practice.
Interestingly, his position puts him at odds with President Barack Obama, a longtime critic of earmarks. Reid and most members of his party in the Senate are clearly swimming against the tide of public opinion, which they may come to regret.
Republicans, who have a lot of heavy lifting ahead of them to repair their image with voters, have taken a small but very important first step.
Saturday, November 20, 2010 12:52 AM CST
While the billions spent by Congress on earmarks is small relative to the federal deficit, the message delivered by the earmarks moratorium adopted by the Republican caucuses in the House and Senate and a more limited ban by House Democrats is huge.
These actions signal that many lawmakers are now tuned in to the Election Day message sent by voters concerned over spiraling deficits and what they perceive as wasteful spending.
Earmarks, because they are commonly placed in spending legislation with limited vetting, have become symbols of wasteful spending to many. Well-published projects like the ill-conceived bridge to nowhere only reinforced this belief.
To be sure, our state, our region and Western Kentucky University have benefited from earmarks for useful projects and programs.
But at the heart of the earmark discussion is this underlying question: If Congress doesn’t have the political will to rein in earmarks, why would Americans have any confidence in their ability to make the even tougher decisions that will be necessary to reduce the deficit?
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, a longtime earmarks supporter, deserves credit for changing his position, which helped ensure his caucus would support the moratorium.
His action demonstrated that he is far more in tune with voters than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who remains a defiant supporter of the practice.
Interestingly, his position puts him at odds with President Barack Obama, a longtime critic of earmarks. Reid and most members of his party in the Senate are clearly swimming against the tide of public opinion, which they may come to regret.
Republicans, who have a lot of heavy lifting ahead of them to repair their image with voters, have taken a small but very important first step.
Labels: News reporting
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 6:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home