Posted on March 31, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Last week, John Stanton from Roll Call had a great article on how a top aide to Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) is using his position to secure earmarks and funding to a town in which he is also an elected local official - which is against House rules.
Illinois Aide Claims Earmarks Credit($)
A top aide to Rep. [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Earmarks, In The News, Pork, State Issues | No Comments »
Posted on March 28, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) discuss the legality of earmarks under the Constitution. Two guesses as to who’s right and the first one doesn’t count.
Most earmarks are only written into the conference reports of appropriations bills - not the actual laws that are voted on by members of Congress. As Sen. DeMint [...]
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Posted on March 28, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Virginia Pork for Crabs and Sheep
The 2009 federal budget will include funding for some strange animals if one Virginia lawmaker has his way.
Rep. Rick Boucher, a Democrat from southwest Virginia, has requested $744,325 to study the horseshoe crab and $250,000 for hair sheep - a unique bread of short-haired sheep that does not require shearing.
Both [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Earmarks, Media Hits, Pork | No Comments »
Posted on March 27, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Possible shady dealings for an earmark in Massachusetts, from the Boston Herald:
He dries (with a little help from his friend)
$1M earmark boon to ex-rep’s home
U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt has pushed through $1.1 million in federal earmarks for a controversial Cohasset pond clean-up meant to stop flooding in a pricey waterfront neighborhood where his former congressman pal [...]
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Posted on March 26, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
From the Houston Chronicle:
Amid re-election bid, McCaul vows to drop earmarks
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, apparently facing a stiff challenge for re-election in November, said Monday that he would no longer request controversial spending projects known as earmarks.
McCaul’s well-financed opponent, Democrat Larry Joe Doherty, questioned the sincerity of the congressman’s reversal but said he, too, would [...]
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Posted on March 24, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
More members of Congress agree to a personal one-year earmark moratorium.
Deal, other Ga. Republicans join anti-earmark crusade
More than half of Georgia’s Republicans in the U.S. House have joined an anti-earmark crusade and pledged to give up pet spending requests for their districts.
They say quitting cold turkey will help shake up a free-spending culture in Washington, [...]
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Posted on March 21, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Support your favorite fiscal watchdog by purchasing exclusive CAGW and Where’s PigFoot? merchandise! A portion of the proceeds for each item you buy goes to CAGW. Shop CAGW now!
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Posted on March 21, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Watch Media Director Leslie K. Paige discuss the failure of the earmark moratorium in the Senate:
Watch Part 1
Then see Part 2
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Posted on March 20, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Save the date! The annual 2008 Congressional Pig Book will be unveiled at a press conference at 9:30a.m. on April 2, 2008.
The event will take place at the National Press Club with several members of Congress in attendance. Mascot PigFoot will be there with his friends - live pigs - Winnie and Dudley.
Click here to [...]
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Posted on March 20, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
March
Rhetorical Flim-Flam
By Alexa Moutevelis=In the wake of the March 13 vote on a one-year moratorium on congressional earmarks, it is time for a post-mortem on who said what in the heat of the battle.
Corn Ethanol is Not a Panacea
By Elizabeth Wright
All is not rosy with corn ethanol and other biofuels, according to a February 7 [...]
Filed under: Budget, Earmarks, Pork, Waste, Wastewatcher | No Comments »
Posted on March 20, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
In today’s Washington Post:
County Executive to Get $65,000 Bathroom
As Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett works to raise taxes and eliminate 225 jobs, a construction crew is installing a bathroom in his locked suite of offices, complete with a small sitting room and shower. The cost to taxpayers: $65,225.
Leggett’s aides said yesterday that his security detail [...]
Filed under: In The News, Pork, State Issues, Waste | No Comments »
Posted on March 19, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
As of today 11 congressional candidates have signed CCAGW’s Earmark Reform Pledge.
Click here to see the pledge and who has signed.
Ten current members of congress have signed the pledge - encourage yours to sign it!
See who in Congress has signed.
Filed under: Earmarks, Reform | No Comments »
Posted on March 18, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Congress is out on Easter recess for two weeks, so things are a little slow here in DC.
Here are two R.J. Matson cartoons on earmarks that appeared in Roll Call in the last week:
LUCKY LEPRECHAUNGRESSMAN
ETHICS OFFICE EARMARK
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Posted on March 18, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
CAGW posted on The Hill’s Congress Blog regarding the March Porkers of the Month. Check it out.
Update: The link has been fixed.
Filed under: Earmarks, Pork, Porker | No Comments »
Posted on March 17, 2008 by Martin Rundle
Visitors to Washington, D.C. often see Marine helicopters buzzing around the National Mall as the president and dignitaries are ferried the ten minutes to Andrews Airforce Base. After 9/11, the White House sought to build a new fleet of “Marine Ones” that would be able to withstand the rigors of a terrorism age, including missile jammers, sophisticated communications [...]
Filed under: Defense, In The News | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 17, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Carper, Biden agree to disclose earmark requests earlier
Sens. Joe Biden and Tom Carper said Friday they will disclose all of their requests for special funding projects known as earmarks, marking a shift in policy for both senators and a move toward greater transparency in the budget process.
…Republican Rep. Mike Castle announced his intention in November [...]
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Posted on March 17, 2008 by Libby Wright
If you are not watching the new HBO mini-series on John Adams, I urge you to do so. The mini-series is based on the book “John Adams,” written by David McCullough. It is a vivid reminder of how wonderful and committed our founding fathers were to creating a new nation.
Sadly, it also reminds you of how [...]
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Posted on March 14, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
CAGW Names Senators Who Voted to Kill DeMint-McCain Earmark Moratorium Porkers of the Month
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named all 71 senators who voted against an amendment to impose a one-year earmark moratorium in the fiscal year 2009 Budget Resolution March Porkers of the Month. The amendment was offered by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Earmarks, Pork, Porker, Reform | No Comments »
Posted on March 14, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Earmarks Become Presidential Battleground
Last summer, Barack Obama released a lengthy list of all the earmarks he had asked for in the fiscal 2008 spending bills. The Democratic presidential candidate had made open government one of his campaign themes, and he wanted to show he was true to his word.
There was just one problem: The Illinois senator [...]
Filed under: Earmarks, In The News, Media Hits, Pork, Reform | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 14, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
McCain Touts Earmark Opposition on Hill
Sen. John McCain returned to Capitol Hill to cast a vote against pork-barrel spending, a centerpiece of the presumptive Republican nominee’s economic agenda and part of his broader campaign on government reform.
The amendment, which failed on a procedural vote late last night, was introduced by Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) [...]
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Posted on March 14, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
In the wake of the earmark moratorium amendment in the Senate failing, at least 2 Representatives announced a voluntary one-year personal moratorium.
Pence Announces One-Year Moratorium on Earmark Requests
Reichert Announces Voluntary Earmark Moratorium
Update:
Reichert, McMorris Rodgers back earmark break
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Posted on March 14, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
In a disappointing 29-71 loss, the DeMint-McCain earmark moratorium amendment to the FY 09 Budget failed last night.
Sen. DeMint made the following comments in a press release following the vote:
“Tonight, too many in Congress embraced the earmark favor factory and proved why we have the lowest approval rating in history,” said Senator DeMint. “Earmarks represent [...]
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Posted on March 13, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Earmark moratorium vote update from The Politico:
GOP accuses Reid of breaking word on earmark vote
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has accused Democratic leaders of punting a vote on a highly touted earmark moratorium, saying they refused to allow a vote on the proposal while presidential candidates were in the Senate chamber today. Senate Majority Leader Harry [...]
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Posted on March 13, 2008 by Libby Wright
As if Congress doesn’t have enough to worry about or are already spending our tax dollars into oblivion…they seem to be always looking for new ways to spend our money wastefully. Here is a little nugget that was in the Congressional Quarterly, March 7.
Capitol Hill Bike Fleet Could Change the Way Aides Get AroundBy Edward Epstein, CQ Staff
Some congressional [...]
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Posted on March 13, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
More reaction to the article from the post Earmark Moratorium in Washington Post
Earmark Halt Predicted to Fail
And the new management looks reluctant to make any changes. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) this week said a moratorium was “unrealistic.”
“Congressionally directed money . . . has been going in this country for 230-some-odd years,” he said.
As we mentioned [...]
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Posted on March 13, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
CAGW was featured in this article in the Washington Post regarding the DeMint-McCain earmark moratorium
Earmark Halt Predicted to Fail
…The presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, is championing a one-year moratorium on funding for home-state projects known as earmarks. Both Democratic presidential candidates — Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Earmarks, In The News, Media Hits, Pork, Reform | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 12, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
I thought it would be good to highlight and respond to some of the comments by the appropriations cardinals in the Roll Call story mentioned below.
Earmark Vote Divides Both Parties
Republican and Democratic members of the Appropriations Committee denounced the amendment and are pushing their colleagues to reject it. “What happens if we don’t say how [...]
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Posted on March 12, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Sen. DeMint’s earmark moratorium amendment is expected to be voted upon by Friday but political shenanigans abound to keep it off the news radar and make it difficult for the presidential candidates who support the amendment to be around for the vote.
Action Alert! Email your senators: Tell the Senate: Support the DeMint-McCain Amendment!
Find your senator [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Earmarks, In The News, Pork, Reform | 2 Comments »
Posted on March 12, 2008 by Leslie Paige
The March 7th Chicago Tribune published an op ed by one John McCarron defending the pork-barrel process. McCarron is now on the Journalism faculty of the Medill Center at Northwestern University where he “writes, consults and teaches on urban affairs.” He had been a member of the Trib’s editorial board for eight years.
The piece was a rehash of the bunk we [...]
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Posted on March 12, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
The Hill article mentioned in the previous post Earmark moratorium possible in House also notes that Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) will not be asking for earmarks. Welcome to the club, Rep. Kind!
The cardinals claim they’re being cut out
Meanwhile, Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) announced Tuesday he was joining Democratic Reps. Mark Udall (Colo.) and Henry Waxman (Calif) in [...]
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