A Defense Earmark: A Scrapbook in Every Footlocker
by Capitol ConfidentialThe Senate is currently working on the Defense Department Appropriations. The legislation provides the framework for spending $625 billion for the nation’s defense. Yes, even today, in Obamamerica, that is a lot money. No surprise, then, that this enormous pot-o-money attracts a load of earmarks.
Now, an earmark itself doesn’t necessarily increase the total amount of money being spent. It simply allows a Congressman or Senator to slice off a small chunk of money and REQUIRE that it be spent in the way they think best. Of course, there are all sorts of problems with this (see Murtha, John).
The least bad is that the money isn’t spent effeciently. A slightly worse problem is that the earmark consumes money that isn’t then available for what may be more pressing needs. Which makes earmarks in the Defense spending bill, um, troublesome. Are politicians really the best choice for deciding how to allocate specific resources to defend our nation and protect our uniformed men and women?
Let’s take a current example:
The Senate is currently debating Committee Report 111-74. This, basically, is the language passed by the Senate Committee on Appropriations, which will be amended to the full bill. The full text of the Committee Report can be found here.
If you go to Page 70, you will find the overall committee recommendations for “Operation and Maintenance-Army National Guard.” This covers all operations of the Army National Guard and the repair and maintenance of its equipment. This money ensures that Army National Guard units are fully trained, ready and equipped when they are called to duty. Overall, the Committee recommends cutting around $300 million from the Army National Guard.
On Page 71-72, you will see specific changes to the Guard’s budget recommended by the Committee. At the top of page 72 you will see:
Army National Guard Unit History Records +5,000(,000)
Hmm…the committee added $5,000,000 for “Unit History Records”, even though the overall budget was cut by $300 million. On page 276, you can see that this line-item (earmark) was added by Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT).
To his credit, Sen. Bob Bennett discloses all his earmark requests on his Senate Website. A few clicks in (Issues/Appropriations/Armed Services Committee) reveals this description:
Item Name: Army National Guard Unit History Records
Request: $5,000,000
Account: Operations and Maintenance, Defense-Wide
Suggested Recipient: Storyrock
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Purpose/Project Description:
To honor and recognize the service of each individual service members with the presentation of their personalized unit historical and current record of service as a legacy tool they can share with family for generations; to educate the public through presentation of same historical records for hands-on use to each school in the state, each media outlet, and every legislative representative.
From StoryRock’s website:
StoryRock Electronic Publishing develops customer-specific programs that help save, organize, and share memories. By incorporating photos, scanned images, and text documents along with other digital tools such as video, narration, music and Web links, we help make every story captivating.
Well.
Look, our men and women in the National Guard provide critical service to our nation. But, scrapbooks? When the Guard’s budget is already being cut by around $300 million, do we really want to carve out $5 million from remaining funds and REQUIRE the Guard to purchase scrapbooks? (Oh, and from a specific company in the home state of the earmarking Senator…natch.) Instead of maintaining vitally important equipment, we’re just going to pause for a “creative memories” moment? Do you think individual men and women in the Guard would make this choice?
It is a small item. But, it is about 5 million reasons why any of you thinking we just need the GOP back in charge are wrong.
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56 Comments
We Republicans continue to be our own worst enemies.
I am still amazed at how out of touch politicians are with the people.
Yeah, I hope there aren't many of us under the illusion that Republicans are our saviors. Both parties are full of empire-building pigs, each hoping to gain influence and favor. The Republicans hope to win big in 2010 by gleefully pointing out that "Democrats are scurrilous and we ain't them!"
Please listen up, Republican leadership, we already know Democrats are scurrilous. However, the facts that you're less scurrilous, and that you plan to lead us down the garden path at a slower pace than the Dems, doesn't make your people paragons of virtue. I'd hate to go through life knowing I was the lesser of two weasels.
Earmarks for scrapbooks ? Fake airports in the middle of nowhere ….. billions slipped to ACORN…. $400,000 to Qaddafi's kids….the whole system is so broken that it'll be a miracle if we can ever fix it. Better start with fixed costs, reduce entitlements. Cut taxes now, force the diet on the gorging leviathan.
I'm sure Congress is uneasy about "We the People" reading and informing ourselves about political affairs.
Keep up the good work Big-Government. com. The people of this great nation have woke up from a long sleep.
"We the People"
Like the song says: "The Road Goes On Forever and the Party Never Ends……………….."
Sadly, even some Republicans don't get it. But even worse is the question of what did he give up in exchange. The junior Republican Senator from Utah gets a $5 million earmark? THAT doesn't happen for free. What did he support, or promise to support, in exchange?
As an Army veteran, this is one expenditure that doesn't bother me very much. From the day a soldier reaches his unit, he is taught of his unit's history. It is a part of morale and a considerable tool in building a cohesive unit. Mine was 1/38th infantry regiment, or "Rock of the Marne." In WWI, they played a crucial role in stopping the last major German offensive of the war. Further, the Army does a terrible job of keeping up with a soldier's records while in service. When I left the Army last year, I only had ninety days from the day we returned from Iraq. My records did not reflect half of the classes I took, or things I had achieved. This information is extremely valuable to soldiers after their military career is finished and they reintigrate to the civilian work force. $5,000,000 may be a bit over the top, but there are alot worse things that this money could be spent on.
And you saw how far McCain got with his NEVER adding an earmark to any bill. The average person has no clue what an earmark is thanks to the MSM. We need to expose Dems and Reps.
The system is broken because of what enables all of this money to come into existence. The Federal Reserve. Just think about it for a minute. What moral right does any government or quasi-government agency have to print little green pieces of paper and say they have any value? None of the debates we are having today would even be occurring without paper money and a central bank.
If we were on a commodity based monetary standard with no central bank as the Founders intended and put in the Constitution, then the government couldn’t endlessly expand. There simply would no housing bubbles or $1T stimulus packages or $65B car company purchases or $1T health care take overs. The government would have to live within it’s means like the rest of us and all appropriations would take place withing the confines of reality.
What happens instead is that they can print the money or create credit, both out of thin air, and then we all pay for it later through higher prices from inflation. Notice I say higher prices “from” inflation. Inflation is the increase of the money supply. Higher prices are just a symptom of inflation, not the inflation itself. This is the most insidious form of taxation because it is hidden and done under the guise of helping everyone when it really destroys the purchasing power of our money, thus hurting everyone especially the poor and middle class.
If we want to limit the government and limit spending then the conservative battle cry should be to rein in the Fed and end it. I’m heartened that the Audit the Fed bill in congress has achieve such broad support. I believe there is a debate coming fairly soon in this country as to the nature of money as a medium of exchange and I really hope people realize the simple fact that paper is not money and can’t be money. If it could be then why do prisoners typically use cigarettes for money? Why don’t they just pass out little pieces of paper? We use paper because we are forced by the government.
There is a movement led by a radio host in Dallas http://www.blowoutcongress.com – replace them all!
This site is becoming such a great site to show how corrupt this whole government is… Thanks so much for doing this. I forward so many links to my congressmen so they cannot say "I never knew that"
Let them know your watching everyword they say and every penny they spend….
Wake up America!!!
Thanks for posting this. Even though this is one of the less questionable earmarks I've seen it illustrates the point that the Republican party is NEVER going to police itself. The Republican base has got to fire all the bums that control the party. My idea for reforming the Republican party is to make every single Elected official running under the Republican brand to take a pledge to never earmark and never engage in deficit spending and to always vote against any bill which contains either. Of course there would be exceptions allowed but only under the most dire circumstances. Good rules makes for good organizations. The Republican party is a tumor that needs to be irradiated.
This may be an old fashioned idea, but if TERM LIMITS (sorry, had to get that out), maybe the JR SENATOR would find better ways to spend his time. Senators and reps and schoolboards and mayors and councilmen only spend this way because THEY EXPECT to get paid back in the future. What if the future were a limited concept?
That's it Senator, be sure our heroes get a little scrapbooking in.
Next earmark might I suggest some kniting needles? They must provide their own yarn, to keep the cost down.
This just KILLS me. I have been working for 6 years spending my own money to produce a very similar program. To think all I had to do was kiss some congressman's a$$. The mission to help families create, preserve and share their stories and experiences to benefit their future generations is a meaningful one. I have programs in place with many elder care professional groups, hospitals and nursing homes. I recruited and trained more than 3000 VOLUNTEERS to aid in the effort and is now the subject for a college Psychology class in South Dakota. Take a look at what I have done without government help. http://www.treasuryofheritage.com
Serendipity reigns supreme. I was floored when I read this.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Susan C Swisher. Susan C Swisher said: RT: @biggovtA Defense Ermrk: A Scrapbook in Every Footlocker: The Senate is currently working on the Def Dept A.. http://bit.ly/19FhgD #tcot [...]
This kind of thing is already out in the public. I have myself been working 6 years helping seniors and particularly veterans do this exact same thing, FOR FREE. Go to http://www.treasuryofheritage.com
Vote the porker out.
Ear marks are the result of nothing more than an astute invetment made by a businessman. Donate $1 to a congressman, get $100 earmark. This is better than the stockmarket even in the boom times. Where do I sign up? If ever there was a market in need of regulation, it is this one.
This service is already out in the public domain. I have been working for 6 years, recruited and trained thousands of volunteers to perform this exact same service for seniors and veterans FOR FREE
Can anybody spell RECALL???? Every one of these boobs need to come home and sit down and be seriously quiet. off the page., Out of the trough. GONE. And yes, that includes the one or two good ones. hy? Because they are NOT standing there screaming about the corruption and the terrible need for reform. They cooperate by their silence. ALL of them: GONE.
It is, of course, clear that attaining high office in these United States is only about filthy lucre. And it's oh so legal!. The trough pigs have zilch problem putting their hands and their snouts deep into the pockets of the all-too cooperative constituent, never batting an eye. Way too busy with soccer, football, jobs, six-packs, never paying atention to the thieves they elect. Way past time to pay attention, but, finally awake, next step is to stop bitching about it, stop the "what the hell?" and ACT. Never mind waiting to vote them out. Hold them accountable: VISIT THEIR OFFICES. Enjoy the naked fear on their faces. Way too easy to ignore your phone calls, your letters. SHOW UP! "Ohhh, dearie, you didn't make an appointment! " Dont' stand still for that. Stiff arm the door guard and walk right in.
Here is a video of the Washington Acorn Extorting a Washington state WAMU, makes you think why WAMU went down.
http://mywhitehouse.org/2009/09/29/acorn-extortin...
"It is a small item. But, it is about 5 million reasons why any of you thinking we just need the GOP back in charge are wrong."
Alright, what is your solution? Kick 'em all out? How the hell is that going to help? Until every voter is ready and willing to contribute and ban contributions from lobbying groups, special interests, and big business, there is nothing that can be done to stop it. You are living in a dream world if you think Independents or Democrats are the better solution. I agree that something needs to be done and I do not have an answer either, but I just do not see how kicking everyone out will help. It would be nice to see a return to actual conservatism.
This is a great example of activism, the same kind of activism we need to adopt. We can no longer sit at home and TRUST our electted officials to do the right thing. This is exactly what ACORN has done and see how well it worked. They managed to destroy our whole economy with the complicity of their favorite congressmen, I am sure I don't need to mention, Frank, Dodd, Schumer, Durbin, Pelosi,,,,,,,,,,,. But it was all about helping the POOR and Underpriviledged, which at the root of it, it is. But the powers that be like allthose who come to be the powers that be, corrupt the whole thing. Do the poor need assistance? Yes! Do the poor need to be kept so comfortable that they need not advance themselves? NO! The less that a person is wanting / needing, the less likely that person is going to work to advance themselves. The Great Society undermined the economic formula that kept families together, by making it more profitable to be a single parent, they drove the producing spouses out of the home. LETS START USING OUR BRAINS PEOPLE, WELFARE HAS A PLACE, BUT LETS KEEP IT IN THAT PLACE
The issue is the system that has been created by representatives that do not think of the country as a whole but just on getting re-elected. We cannot knock the Republicans for doing what must be done in order for them to secure power in a system that only re-elects people who bring home money to their districts.
The government is broken! This is now the status quo if the republicans stop doing ear marks then their constituents do not think it is fair that the neighboring district with a Democrat got money and new things and some jobs. So until earmarks are completely cut out of the system all this chatter about who is better is just that chatter! The democrats have been buying votes via legislation to give people money, food, health care etc for years.
The Republicans are forced to do the same in order to stay as a viable party. Now we have the problem of who is worse well it gets back to the people, the voters yes we the people who expect our representatives to bring home the bacon. We are at fault essentially because we like the money in our neighborhoods. If you want this broken system fixed you must never re-elect any one over two terms and we must get rid of these retirement packages these politicians get. This way they will not screw the public because they will be back with us in due time.
Quit with the Us against them mentality because it is our fault "we the people". I am all for a helping hand to those in need but a living I do not owe them. The only people who deserve a somewhat free ride are the Veterans who have been wounded to the point that they cannot do for themselves. I am of the old addage of neighbor helps neighbor, family helps family, friend helps friend. The government is not the tit that all may suckle at. States and county and town governments should wield the purse strings.
Government is not the solution, government is the problem.
No New Laws!
I think the best way to start is to DEMAND that they pass now new laws, statutes, rules, nothing for 5 years. During that time they MUST become familiar with all the CRAP they have already passed, amended etc.
For the next 5 years they can only undo what they have done and simplify what they think we still need.
during that decade we watch them relentlessly and vote out anyone who does not take it as their solemn duty to cut the leviathan down to size.
oops "no" new laws
Exactly! Sometimes that $1 investment turns to liquid gold. These professional gold diggers must go and the system MUST be repaired with the first item being term limits. That in and of itself will put limits on that initial investment.
Take a look at Al Gore. He invests invests in a small company making electric cars and then goes to congress and wins them $530 million. Have to believe the value of his investment did not go up. Almost like insider trading, hey wait a minute, its just like that!
The face on this article is the face of a greedy corrupt politician.There are about 535 just like him in congress.This guy is an incumbant and a career politician.The only way we have of having even a small chance of getting back on track is to vote out all incumbants.Get rid of the career politicians and you put a major crimp in the influence of all special interest.Then we need eight year and your out term limits for a start.
URGENT:
The time is HERE, be prepared. The American Police Force has taken over Hardin Montana – God Bless us All
http://mywhitehouse.org/2009/09/29/hardin-montana...
I would not really call this pork. I think it is important to keep records and dedicate some of the budget to keeping the unit's legacy alive. I served in the Army and National Guards for almost nine years. My last unit was one of the most elite units in the military system. The unit had a long legacy that pretty much died with it when it was cut from the force structure a few years back. Another unit I served with had the motto "Remember Bataan". The unit was in WWII and lost almost every soldier in it when they were forced on the Bataan Death March.
Only those who were in the military really understand what I am talking about. A units legacy is sometimes so vast it would take hundreds of books to tell it completely.
I think if one was to dig into this further, I think you may find that this was done as a result of numerous requests to the Senator from veterans. What I do consider to be pork spending is $500 million for global warming research, which was in the "stimulus bill"
This is the exact reason I do not and will never call myself a Republican, or belong to any party. The only difference between Dems and Repubs is that they fight how they will spend how money. The conservatives need to rise up and take our Republic back, and this site is a great start. We need to shrink government….. and that means shrink how much governent confiscates from all of us on a weekly basis. And that also means a lot of people who have ponied up to the government trough may loose their jobs.
I always love when there is a wether emergency and they say all Non-Essential governement employees are to stay home. How many is that? And if they are Non-Essential, well why do we need them? Government exists not to take care of us, but to do the things we singularly CAN NOT do for ourselves. And that is a very small and limited list.
Another commenter on another post advised that we become local Republican precinct committeemen. This sounded like a great idea, a way to get control of the party for the conservative wing. I think the main advantage is that the national and local party frameworks are already in place. We'd be far better off going this route than voting Independent, Libertarian or write-in. According to the commenter, about 50% of the precinct committeeman posts are unfilled, and the other 50%, those which are filled, are about half and half, conservative and dumb masses (the McCain types).
We need conservatives in office. Liberal and moderate Republicans won't do us much good. By the way, I'm an atheist conservative, but will be GLAD to work for any truly conservative candidates, including religioso types.
I can remember when I was in U.S. ARMY Maintenance units under Carter and we could not get even the most basic of repair parts, vital equipment setting on "Deadline Row"
“For lack of a nail a horseshoe was lost,
For lack of a horseshoe a horse was lost,
For lack of a horse a King was lost,
For lack of a King a Kingdom was lost”
I agree, this is not the WORST earmark I have seen, but that doesn't make it a GOOD one! A coupe of things:
This will never happen…but I would love for these type of tax expenditures to be voluntary. In the sense that if you support this earmark, YOU get to pay for it! You could send a check to Congress or have your wages garnished. The idea that FEDERAL dollars will pay for a state matter such as this is sickening. If states could ween themselves from the federal teat, and pay for their matters internally, they would be forced to reject these needless expenditures or go broke.
Basically, here's a golden rule…if something like this were a good idea, or profitable, the private sector would develop it. Since they didn't, it's not. End of story.
Remember that scene in "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" where the jalopy car with speakers on it is riding around town with the announcer saying, over and over, "Wire Congress. Wire Congress. Wire Congress."
Well, here's an update to bring that scene to the modern age. A pick-up truck with an American flag flying and a really loud stereo system blaring,
"FIRE CONGRESS. FIRE CONGRESS. FIRE CONGRESS."
Get rid of the whole sorry lot of them.
I am always amazed that politicians after being elected to office think that they are experts in military, economic, social, and international subjects. Their experience in those areas consists of what? Being elected…. How droll…
That's why we want to replace all incumbents that keep voting away our liberty. Be they Dem, or Rep., doesn't matter. We need conservatives in Congress.
Link doesn't work, here's the real one
http://www.bennett.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=...
STOP ALL OF YOUR RECKLESS SPENDING AND STOP ALL OF THESE EARMARK'S THIS IS JUST ANOTHER WAY FOR YOU ALL TO STEAL BILLION'S OF DOLLAR'S FROM THE TAXPAYERS WE ARE TIRED OF IT AND STOP SMUGGELING ILLEGAL IMIGRANT'S INTO THE UNITED STATES AND STOP GIVEING THEM ACCESS TO OUR SOCIAL SERVICES AND BLOCK THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT LEGALIZATION PROSESS WE DONT NEED OR WANT ANYMORE AMENDMENT'S TO OUR CONSTITUTION WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF OBAMA AND HIS BULL SHIT.
[...] not yet, but this is certainly encouraging. On Tuesday, we brought you the story of Sen. Bennett’s request to carve out $5 million from vital maintainance funds to provide [...]
[...] not yet, but this is certainly encouraging. On Tuesday, we brought you the story of Sen. Bennett’s request to carve out $5 million from vital maintainance funds to provide [...]
[...] not yet, but this is certainly encouraging. On Tuesday, we brought you the story of Sen. Bennett’s request to carve out $5 million from vital maintainance funds to provide [...]
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See page 6 for instructions on how to document your service obligation with the Department. ,
Only by running up huge deficits can our senators and representatives continue to spend. If they tried to raise taxes to cover the costs being incurred, even for the war efforts, they would be thrown out of office. They are making a terrible mistake in their leadership of this country, and we are encouraging it by always demanding more and more.
[...] [...]
Great cheers for your personal facts