The Swine Line

Tomorrow CCAGW will participate in a rally in support of the DeMint-McCain earmark moratorium amendment.  Here’s a look where key players in the drama stand, according to Roll Call:

Reid Won’t Back Ban on Earmarks

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will not back a moratorium on Congressional earmarks despite growing interest among House and Senate Republicans — as well as the House Democratic leadership — in a one-year freeze on the practice, aides said last week.

A number of Republicans — including House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) and Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.) — have been pushing the idea of a moratorium on earmarks as a way to foster broader reforms of the system for months. In recent weeks, Democrats in the House and Senate have warmed to the idea.

Reid’s rejection of a moratorium comes on the heels of reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — frustrated by constant attacks on Democrats from Republicans over the earmarking issue — is considering proposing a moratorium to her Caucus this year.
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Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has signed on as a co-sponsor to a DeMint amendment to the budget resolution that would bar the Senate from considering any legislation that includes earmarks. A vote on the amendment is expected this week, and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) — the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and a co-sponsor of the proposal — could return to the chamber to participate in the debate, DeMint said last week.
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Reid joins Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the chamber’s cadre of “Old Bull” appropriators in opposing a moratorium. McConnell, a former appropriator, has long been a vocal advocate of the use of earmarks, and is not expected to support DeMint and McCain in their effort to attach the moratorium to the budget resolution.