Breaking: House GOP Adopts Unilateral Ban on All Earmarks

This morning, the House GOP Caucus adopted a unilateral ban on all earmarks.

For millions of Americans, the earmark process in Congress has become a symbol of a broken Washington. Today House Republicans took an important step toward showing the American people we’re serious about reform by adopting an immediate, unilateral ban on all earmarks. But the more difficult battle lies ahead, and that’s stopping the spending spree in Washington that is saddling our children and grandchildren with trillions of dollars in debt. Only then will we have succeeded in bringing fundamental change to the way Congress spends taxpayers’ money.

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Tags: earmark ban, Earmarks, federal spending
Posted Mar 11th 2010 at 9:04 am in Congress, News, federal spending | 87814137 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jboehner/2010/03/11/breaking-house-gop-adopts-unilateral-ban-on-all-earmarks/Breaking%3A+House+GOP+Adopts+Unilateral+Ban+on+All+Earmarks2010-03-11+17%3A04%3A19Rep.+John+Boehner

Please Sir, May I Have Some More? John Olver (MA-1), Earmark King

As I predicted, Scott Brown’s triumphant victory as the first Republican U.S. Senator in 38 years was only the beginning. Next came the retirement of disgraced U.S. congressman, Bill Delahunt (MA-10), which this columnist helped expose at this website.

Rep. John Olver

Now here comes crowded Republican primaries for Massachusetts’s other congressional races. Many of these candidates will lose, but by running they will give their opponents the first real race many of them have seen in decades and they will give new life to an endangered species, the Massachusetts Republican.

This is all part of a transition, moving the people of Massachusetts and their politics back to the middle, back to better representation.

For the Massachusetts congressional delegation, times are tough. Demographic change has meant that their numbers have shrunk to ten members, the lowest for the Bay State since the 1860s. If Republicans retake the House, the people of the Commonwealth will be all but shut out of congressional policy. With Ted Kennedy dead and no one left to direct the delegation, the congressmen will make for easy pickings, despite their considerable warchests amassed over the years. Here’s an assessment of the perceived vulnerabilities of John Olver (MA-1) that Republicans might exploit, moving his congressional district closer to the accountable government we’ve been looking for, and saving the people of Massachusetts much embarrassment once Republicans retake the Congress.

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Tags: Earmarks, John Olver, labor unions, massachusetts delegation, scott brown
Posted Mar 10th 2010 at 5:29 am in Big Labor, Congress, Culture, Earmarks, Politics, State Politics | 8590646 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/cjohnson/2010/03/10/please-sir-may-i-have-some-more-john-olver-ma-1-earmark-king/Please+Sir%2C+May+I+Have+Some+More%3F+John+Olver+%28MA-1%29%2C+Earmark+King2010-03-10+13%3A29%3A08Charles+C.+Johnson

Obama, The Director

Several weeks after the Senate rejected Barack Obama’s plan to create a bipartisan congressional panel charged with decreasing the deficit, the president will use his executive authority to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

The less-powerful bipartisan commission, chaired by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, will be tasked with formulating a plan to decrease the federal budget deficit to 3% of GDP by 2015.

Yawn.

With the signing of this executive order, Obama will add fiscal responsibility to his growing library of political theater. Thus far, his other featured films have starred earmarks, lobbyists, Sonia Sotomayor, bipartisanship, etc. Unsurprisingly, they all share a common theme: disingenuousness. You’re welcome to grab some popcorn and take a seat, but as you watch the production of fiscal responsibility featuring Obama the deficit hawk, keep in mind you’re only being entertained.

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Tags: Deficit Commission, deficit hawk, Earmarks, Fannie Mae, fiscal responsibility
Posted Feb 18th 2010 at 5:56 am in Earmarks, Economics, Featured Story, Obama, Politics, federal spending | 76810241 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jarenas/2010/02/18/obama-the-director/Obama%2C+The+Director2010-02-18+13%3A56%3A30J.C.+Arenas

Pork Report, February 9, 2010: Neon Edition

More than three-quarters of the $2 billion in federal stimulus funds intended to create green-energy jobs in the U.S. has gone to foreign-owned companies

Despite millions in federal tax credits, wind-equipment manufacturers cut thousands of jobs in the U.S. last year

Las Vegas receives $4.5 million federal grant to build the neon museum

Alaska Senators fight to restore funding for earmark that both President Bush and Obama have tried to eliminate

New Jersey Senator prodded the Federal Reserve to aid a struggling bank whose chairman and vice chairman were big campaign contributors

Media critics agree the U.S. Census Bureau’s $2.5 million Super Bowl ad was one of the worst

$501,940 of federal stimulus aid will help finance an animal shelter, which will include pet bathing areas and a kitten nursery

(more…)

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Tags: bank bailout, census ad, Earmarks, FDIC, federal deficit
Posted Feb 9th 2010 at 4:06 pm in Pork Report | 7299031 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/porkreport/2010/02/09/pork-report-february-9-2010-neon-edition/Pork+Report%2C+February+9%2C+2010%3A+Neon+Edition2010-02-10+00%3A06%3A04The+Pork+Report

Congressman John Murtha Dead at 77

From the Associated Press:

Spokesman for Rep. John Murtha says the Pennsylvania Democrat has died at 77.

ED Note: Rep. Murtha was a close political ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He was her choice for Majority Leader, but he was edged out in a caucus-wide vote by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD). He became a darling of the on-line left as a fierce critic of the Iraq War. For many conservatives, he was a personification of the Congressional earmark system and its potential for abuse. His final months in office were marked by serious questions surrounding his steering of millions of dollars in Pentagon appropriations.

Consider this an open thread.

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Tags: Earmarks, Iraq war, John Murtha
Posted Feb 8th 2010 at 11:56 am in Open Threads | 72042402 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/02/08/congressman-john-murtha-dead-at-77/Congressman+John+Murtha+Dead+at+772010-02-08+19%3A56%3A45Publius

Calling another Stimulus a ‘Jobs Bill’ Won’t Make it Work any Better than Last Year’s Fiscal Flop

This new video from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity explains how last year’s so-called stimulus was a flop – and also reveals why politicians are pushing for another big-government spending bill.

Interestingly, since last year’s stimulus was such a disaster, the redistributionists in Washington are calling their new proposal a “jobs bill.” But as I say in the video, this is akin to putting perfume on a hog.

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Tags: Big Government, bureaucracy, bureaucrats, Earmarks, Economic Stimulus
Posted Jan 25th 2010 at 9:37 am in Congress, Earmarks, Economics, News, Obama, Politics, Tea Party, federal spending | 6488265 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/dmitchell/2010/01/25/calling-another-stimulus-a-jobs-bill-wont-make-it-work-any-better-than-last-years-fiscal-flop/Calling+another+Stimulus+a+%27Jobs+Bill%27+Won%27t+Make+it+Work+any+Better+than+Last+Year%27s+Fiscal+Flop2010-01-25+17%3A37%3A21Dan+Mitchell

Pork Report, January 22, 2009: Bureaucrats Gone Wild Edition

Bureaucrats gone wild! Taxpayers charged for international trysts, golf, skiing, and other government junkets

Military officials bought thousands of dollars worth of alcohol, food and other amenities for congressional overseas junkets

Delaware airport that “hardly ever sees a paying passenger” has received $12.3 million from the federal Airport Improvement Program for a runway construction project

Tennessee library pays for Rock Band video game session and Monday Night Football with a $5,000 federal Community Building Through Video Games in Libraries grant

(more…)

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Tags: congressional junkets, Defense Appropriations, Earmarks, federal spending, Hurricane Katrina
Posted Jan 22nd 2010 at 6:50 pm in Pork Report | 6414257 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/porkreport/2010/01/22/pork-report-january-22-2009-bureaucrats-gone-wild-edition/Pork+Report%2C+January+22%2C+2009%3A+Bureaucrats+Gone+Wild+Edition2010-01-23+02%3A50%3A04The+Pork+Report

ObamaCare’s Do or Die Moment in the Senate

Saturday is a big day in the Senate for ObamaCare.  Congressional Quarterly reported that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will unveil his manager’s package of changes to the Senate version of ObamaCare on Saturday morning and immediately file cloture to shut off debate on the package.  This package of changes to the bill and special interest projects were crafted by Reid to buy the support of members wavering in his caucus, including Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE), Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Jim Webb (D-VA).

Nobody knows if any acceptable compromise is possible at this point in the debate.  Liberals in the Democrat Caucus are mad because the public option has been scrapped and moderates are concerned that this bill has become so politically unpopular that a vote for any version of ObamaCare is the functional equivalent of political suicide.  If the Reid Amendment passes, then the President will be one step closer to victory.  If ObamaCare goes down in flames, then Monday may prove to be the President and Senator Harry Reid’s health care Waterloo.

(more…)

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Tags: Ben Nelson, Congressional Budget Office, Earmarks, Harry Reid, health care
Posted Dec 19th 2009 at 4:21 am in Congress, Featured Story, Healthcare, Uncategorized | 4939080 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/bdarling/2009/12/19/obamacares-do-or-die-moment-in-the-senate/ObamaCare%27s+Do+or+Die+Moment+in+the+Senate2009-12-19+12%3A21%3A51Brian+Darling

Pork Report, December 10, 2009: Muskrat Love Edition

Martini bar, puppet shows, and research on the sex drive of rats among the recipients of federal stimulus funding

All aboard the stimulus gravy train! $54 million of stimulus funds for a California “wine train” and $2.2 million for a golf course being threatened with closure

Congressional Republicans trumpeting their efforts to rein in federal spending have tucked thousands of pet projects costing more than $1 billion in the $446.8 billion omnibus appropriations bill expected to be passed this week

$500,000 National Science Foundation grant studies how people use Facebook

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Tags: Earmarks, Facebook, federal stimulus spending, federal waste, Juan de Fuca Festival
Posted Dec 10th 2009 at 4:29 pm in Pork Report | 4440225 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/porkreport/2009/12/10/pork-report-december-10-2009-muskrat-love-edition/Pork+Report%2C+December+10%2C+2009%3A+Muskrat+Love+Edition2009-12-10+23%3A29%3A26The+Pork+Report

Five Common-Sense Steps to Change a Broken Congress

The American people have had it with “business as usual” in Congress.  They are fed up with practices such as tucking special-interest provisions into bills behind closed doors, secretly changing bills without a vote, and passing bills no one has read.  This has happened for far too long, but never before has the need for reform been more apparent than in the past year under Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her Democratic majority.

Americans are demanding change in the way Congress works.  Recognizing this, I and other reform-minded congressional Republicans this week will put forth a new transparency initiative – a series of common-sense congressional reforms aimed at bringing some much-needed openness and accountability to the House.

In just 10 months, with help from the Obama White House, Speaker Pelosi’s Congress has taken business-as-usual to a devastating new extreme.  The American people have watched Congress rush through a massive “stimulus” spending bill no one read; a massive $410 billion omnibus spending bill loaded with thousands of un-scrutinized earmarks; and a new “cap and trade” national energy tax loaded with special-interest giveaways unveiled at 3:00 am on the morning before a vote.

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Tags: cap-and-trade, Congress, congressional reform, Earmarks, floor action
Posted Nov 18th 2009 at 8:03 am in Congress, News, Politics | 32826109 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jboehner/2009/11/18/five-common-sense-steps-to-change-a-broken-congress/Five+Common-Sense+Steps+to+Change+a+Broken+Congress2009-11-18+15%3A03%3A17Rep.+John+Boehner

Pork Report November 17, 2009: Post Office Edition

The U.S. Postal Service lost $3.8 billion last year

Winery receives federal stimulus grant

Musicians more effective communicating in noisy environments than non-musicians, according to findings of a National Science Foundation study

Only 20 percent of Americans hold positive view of government

Research company receives millions of dollars of congressional earmarks and has nothing to show for it

(more…)

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Tags: border control, border patrol, congressional earmarks, Earmarks, federal bailout
Posted Nov 17th 2009 at 7:29 pm in Pork Report | 3249019 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/porkreport/2009/11/17/pork-report-november-17-2009-post-office-edition/Pork+Report+November+17%2C+2009%3A+Post+Office+Edition2009-11-18+02%3A29%3A08The+Pork+Report

Pork Report October 29,2009: National Science Foundation Edition

National Science Foundation studies gossip and workplace politics in elementary school

$1.47 million grant from the National Science Foundation will fund a 3-D virtual recreation of the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair

National Science Foundation funds self-help for Members of Congress

$1.57 million stimulus grant to search for fossils… in Argentina

Thirty companies ranked among the most egregious offenders of state and federal laws awarded more than $1.2 billion in federal stimulus contracts

Taxpayers paid $24,000 per car under federal Cash for Clunkers program

(more…)

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Tags: Cash for Clunkers, Earmarks, federal stimulus, Homeland Security, National Science Foundation
Posted Oct 29th 2009 at 8:59 pm in Congress, Earmarks | 228669 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/porkreport/2009/10/29/pork-report-october-292009-national-science-foundation-edition/Pork+Report+October+29%2C2009%3A+National+Science+Foundation+Edition2009-10-30+03%3A59%3A22The+Pork+Report

Pork Report October 26, 2009: Decorative Street Lights Edition

New Jersey spending federal stimulus funds to keep an eye out for graffiti

National Science Foundation researchers study the cure for low approval ratings of members of Congress

“The groundbreaking study … found that online deliberative forums are likely to sway swing voters in favor of the lawmaker holding the online forum,” says taxpayer funded study

Taxpayer funded study claims online town hall meetings increase constituents’ approval of politicians and likelihood of voting to re-elect a politician to Congress

Department of Energy will spend $151 million for “radical” research projects, “most of which will probably fail”

Congressman supported at least $44 million in earmarks for companies that did not operate in his home state, nearly all of which donated to his campaign just before or soon after receiving the promise of federal money

House subcommittee plans Honolulu junket to check on stimulus spending

Vinegar producer in Nebraska gets start up funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Boyz Nite Out: Cover band concert underwritten with federal stimulus funds

Indiana city spending $625,000 in federal transportation funds to place 40 decorative street lights

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Tags: congressional junket, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Earmarks, National Science Foundation
Posted Oct 26th 2009 at 3:45 pm in Uncategorized | 2125420 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/porkreport/2009/10/26/pork-report-october-26-2009-decorative-street-lights-edition/Pork+Report+October+26%2C+2009%3A+Decorative+Street+Lights+Edition2009-10-26+22%3A45%3A36The+Pork+Report

The Profitability of Lobbying

In a surprising development, the Washington Post discovers that Congressmen make promises of funding in exchange for votes:

“It takes a while for most start-up companies to gain the confidence of a U.S. congressman and the promise of federal funds. But last year, a small Illinois company accomplished its goal in 16 days with the help of Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, a little-known Indiana Democrat who sits on the House committee that funds the Pentagon. [...]

The congressman sponsored or supported at least $44 million in earmarks in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 for more than 15 technology firms that had hired K&L Gates as lobbyists. None of the companies operated in Visclosky’s home state, but nearly all of them donated to Visclosky’s campaign just before or soon after receiving the promise of federal money.”

This is more evidence of the twisted positive sum gain between lobbyists and lawmakers. Sure lawmakers benefit, but that’s because they have something very valuable to offer. Lobbying is a very profitable activity. According this study published in April this year, the $3 billion-a-year industry in Washington secures spectacular returns on investment such as “a single tax break in 2004 earned companies $220 for every dollar they spent on the issue — a 22,000 percent rate of return on their investment.”

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Tags: Earmarks, lobbying, Peter Visclosky, tax breaks
Posted Oct 26th 2009 at 8:30 am in Congress, Earmarks, Politics | 2098621 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/vderugy/2009/10/26/the-profitability-of-lobbying/The+Profitability+of+Lobbying2009-10-26+15%3A30%3A13Veronique++de+Rugy

Senator Zeus: Kay Bailey Hutchison Earmarking Your Taxes For Her Odd Fixation on Controlling Hurricanes

Christians believe God can calm the seas, and Greeks believed Zeus controlled the weather and showered down thunder and lightning in anger. Apparently, now Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas seems to think she too can control the winds and the rains by earmarking over a hundred million of your tax dollars to dubious research at universities in her state, even though the idea was long abandoned by government scientists.

Senator Hutchison, recently named “Porker of the Month”, says she wants to earmark $125 million during this recession to, in her words, force “Mother Nature” to “alter her course.” As Al Gore and President Obama have failed in their quest to control the oceans, Senator Hutchison thinks she can finally get Mother Nature to listen to politicians. Good luck!
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Tags: Al Gore, Barack Obama, cloud seeding, Earmarks, hurricanes
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 at 12:35 pm in Congress, Earmarks, Politics, State Politics | 1959470 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2009/10/22/senator-zeus-kay-bailey-hutchison-earmarking-your-taxes-for-her-odd-fixation-on-controlling-hurricanes/Senator+Zeus%3A+Kay+Bailey+Hutchison+Earmarking+Your+Taxes+For+Her+Odd+Fixation+on+Controlling+Hurricanes2009-10-22+19%3A35%3A20Capitol++Confidential

The Pork Report: October 14, 2009

Taxpayers foot the bill for office items lost or stolen by members of Congress

Half-a-million dollar NSF stimulus grant pays to search for alternatives to Facebook

Stimulus funds pay to create an online database of bugs

Stimulus funds to pay for talking buses in Ohio; Human voices to replace beeping sounds that alert pedestrians of approaching buses

Congressmen successfully pressure the Food and Drug Administration to approve medical device manufactured by campaign contributor

Spending bills stalled by decision of Appropriations Committees to withhold government reports from the public and other members of Congress

Political ‘scientists’ lobby to keep millions of dollars in federal science grants

Congress will spend more than $100 million to put sand on beaches

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Tags: Appropriations Committee, bug database, Earmarks, Facebook, Food and Drug Administration
Posted Oct 14th 2009 at 3:00 pm in Congress, News, Politics | 1651027 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/porkreport/2009/10/14/the-pork-report-october-14-2009/The+Pork+Report%3A+October+14%2C+20092009-10-14+22%3A00%3A30The+Pork+Report

Pork Report: October 2, 2009

Money intended for soldiers fighting war is instead being spent on senators’ home-state pet projects

Defense spending bill contains an earmark that has nothing to do with national defense, $20 million for an institute honoring late Senator Ted Kennedy

Maryland Senator earmarks tens of millions of dollars in a defense spending bill for her top campaign donors

New Jersey receives $4.8 million earmark to increase the size of Long Beach Island beaches and dunes

National Science Foundation hands out taxpayer cash in experiment to determine if birth order affects willingness to make risky economic decisions

Federal grant pays to design and build an exhibit about the significance of lacrosse

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Tags: birth order, campaign donors, Defense spending, Earmarks, lacrosse
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 2:31 pm in Congress, Earmarks, News, Politics | 1173426 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/porkreport/2009/10/02/pork-report-october-2-2009/Pork+Report%3A+October+2%2C+20092009-10-02+21%3A31%3A29The+Pork+Report

Scrapbook Earmark Headed to the Scrapheap?

Well, 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 ‘digital scrapbooks’ to National Guardsmen. Big Government was able to shine a spotlight on an earmark buried deep inside a Committee Report to the Defense Appropriations bill. On Thursday, CNN picked up our story and confronted Sen. Bennett on the Senate steps to ask about the ’scrapbook earmark’.

Watch the whole wonderful thing.

An amendment will be offered Tuesday to strip out this and several other earmarks. Capitol Confidential is getting results.

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Tags: CNN, Defense Appropriations, Earmarks, National Guard, Pentagon
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 11:24 am in Congress, Earmarks | 1155019 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2009/10/02/scrapbook-earmark-headed-to-the-scrapheap/Scrapbook+Earmark+Headed+to+the+Scrapheap%3F+2009-10-02+18%3A24%3A39Capitol++Confidential

We Can’t Even Trim $1.4 Million From Our Budget

Riding the wave of the GOP’s successful push to have Congress defund Acorn, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) tried to push through another prudential budget matter: killing the John Murtha-Johnstown Cambria County Airport. His effort was not as successful.

On Thursday afternoon, the GOP brought a measure to the Senate floor to end federal subsidies for the airport Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) had built in Johnstown, PA, right in his home district. Over the past few years, the airport has received roughly $150 million in funds from the defense budget, and it got $800,000 in stimulus money.

But it just so happens the airport only sees about 6,700 passengers… a year. Luckily, Murtha is the chairman of that wonderful little defense committee, dutifully guiding money towards the airport build largely so he could get from Dulles back to his home easier.

Tyler Grimm wrote in The Wall Street Journal earlier this month:

The usually barren airport—there were several times during the day I paced the building for 15 minutes and did not see another human being—has a lot of unused advertising space. But you can’t miss the large picture of John Murtha among a collage of Lockheed Martin workers at the airport’s center. It’s a monument to earmarks: “Partnerships Make a World of Difference,” the ad reads.

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Tags: Earmarks, John Murtha, Sen. Jim Demint
Posted Sep 18th 2009 at 6:15 am in Congress, Earmarks | 456251 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/arandazzo/2009/09/18/we-cant-even-trim-1-4-million-from-our-budget/We+Can%27t+Even+Trim+%241.4+Million+From+Our+Budget2009-09-18+13%3A15%3A03Anthony+Randazzo