Posted by
Steve on Saturday, March 22, 2008 1:07:39 PM
A report came out today on earmarks. Earmarks are the payoffs that Congressmen and Senators give to contributors. The report stated that Arizona is last. That is a good report to be last in. My Congressman, Jeff Flake, is one of the three Arizonans that did not have any earmarks last year. The other two are John McCain and John Shadegg. One other was nearly zero, Jon Kyl. Jon Kyl gave a couple of earmarks to some carefully screened projects, not donors. Our three Democrat Congressmen had significant earmarks. Ed Pastor led the group with the two newcomers following his lead.
This report made me think of how to make a true earmark reform. There are two alternatives I came up with. The first is to have committee assignments be based on earmarks. The Congressman or Senator with the fewest earmarks would have first choice of committee assignments. This would mean that a Senator or Congressman could bring home the Pork or have influence in the halls of Congress, not both. Right now, the ones that dole out the highest earmarks are given the best committee assignments. That is exactly backwards to the way it should be done. There is probably little chance for this to be implemented, particularly by Democrats. The biggest pigs like the system as it is.
The second idea is to select leadership from among those who use earmarks the least. If a Senator or Congressman is within 10% of the lowest earmarks, he/she would be eligible for a leadership position like majority leader or minority leader. This idea again has the same thrust, a Senator or Congressman could have power or they can bring home the pork, not both. If everyone were at zero, it would be a tie for first and everyone would be eligible. Using my Senators as an example, both would be eligible for leadership right now. If everyone were at zero and Senator Kyl was not, he would not be eligible. That would be the case even if his total was a few thousand dollars. Again, this has little chance of passing. Most of the leadership in both parties uses earmarks extensively. Jon Kyl is the exception to that rule. He only uses it a little bit.
Right now, earmarks are out of control in both houses of Congress. Something has to be done to correct the problem. Here in Arizona, we are electing people that want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. We are not perfect, but we are better than anyone else. I would hope that the voters in the districts where their Congressmen use earmarks see the light and vote to remove these abusers. I must admit that the Arizona lawmakers that use earmarks use them much less than in other states, but abuse is still abuse. It is like being a little big pregnant.
At one time, earmarks were a sign of power and prestige in Congress. Now times are changing. I would hope that within 10 years we can end earmarks and get some fiscal discipline into Congress. The main reason Congress cannot pass a balanced budget is because of earmarks. Right now, we have to live with them and cry over their abuse. In the future, anyone who uses earmarks will face ridicule. That would be the best tool to rid Congress of this budget busting instrument forever.