House Republicans recently unveiled something called the Select Committee on Earmark Reform, which, according to its website, exists “to bring change and transparency to the process by which Washington spends taxpayers’ money.” There’s no doubt that the appropriations process needs a drastic overhaul. But are the members on the Committee the right bunch to lead the reform charge?
Here is the list of members appointed to the Committee.
- Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Chair
- Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX)
- Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
- Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA)
- Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)
- Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
- Rep. John Mica (R-FL)
- Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID)
- Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN)
Andy Roth at the Club for Growth isn’t too optimistic after looking at the scores that these members received on the Club’s 2007 RePork card:
With the exception of Flake and Hensarling, these scores should not make taxpayers overly optimistic that real reform will be achieved, especially when you have two appropriators on the committee (Simpson and Wamp). John Mica is also on record for saying, “There’s no way in hell I would support banning earmarks.”
Indeed, Mica’s ridiculous statement earned him the coveted award for July 2008 Porker of the Month, but his scores on the CCAGW Congressional Ratings are not the worst. Here’s how the Committee members stack up. Ratings for 2007 are first, followed by lifetime ratings.
- McMorris Rodgers (R-WA): 41%/44%
- Biggert (R-IL): 63%/64%
- Brady (R-TX): 63%/76%
- Flake (R-AZ): 100%/97%
- Forbes (R-VA): 52%/64%
- Hastings (R-WA): 55%/68%
- Hensarling (R-TX): 100%/95%
- Mica (R-FL): 72%/72%
- Simpson (R-ID): 25%/55%
- Wamp (R-TN): 48%/75%
Clearly, Flake and Hensarling are at the top, but I’m sure they’d be willing to make room for any recovering earmark addicts.
Filed under: Earmarks
