Herald Dispatch reported Sen. Robert Byrd has built a reputation in Congress and in West Virginia using special interest funding to bring federal jobs and money home, but the king of pork said he's willing to give up his projects for 2007
Just for 2007, or will you kill earmarks for good? At 89, Byrd is the oldest member of Congress, and he was just reelected, and is unlikely to survive another 6 years, so he could afford to kill earmarks altogether.to find a way out of the "fiscal chaos" left by the outgoing Republican-led Congress. Byrd, incoming chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and his House counterpart Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin outlined their plan late Monday to pass a yearlong stopgap spending bill to keep government programs and agencies functioning until Sept. 30, 2007. To expedite the process, Byrd and Obey said they would eliminate earmarks -- funding inserted into bills by lawmakers for projects in their district or states -- from the unfinished budget.
2 comments:
Interesting point on his age. With the Democrats’ promise to pause earmarks, there’s a lot to consider. When it comes to the public’s understanding of the nation’s finances, the American people are surprisingly tuned in, willing to make sacrifices and extremely understanding of fiscal challenges. But when it comes to government spending, there are some trust issues.
http://www.publicagenda.org/research/research_reports_details.cfm?list=104
Politicians are going to be reluctant to give up pork, because they depend on it for reelection, but I believe we should have a bipartisan pressure from both the left and the right to push for permanent blockage of earmarks.
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