House of Ill-Repute: It's Time to Ban Earmarks
by Robert Reich
from CommonDreams
Democrats seem on the way to retaking the House. But what will they inherit? Recent polls show just one in four Americans thinks Congress is doing a good job. That’s not surprising considering the stench of corruption that emanates from Capitol Hill.
The surprising thing is Republicans aren't taking the public's "kick the rascals out" mood more seriously. You'd think after the Jack Abramoff scandal had spread to Tom DeLay and Ohio Republican Bob Ney, and after former California Rep Duke Cunningham pleaded guilty to bribery –- that after all, Speaker Dennis Hastert and his leadership team would have recognized the need for some dramatic action.
Instead they produced a wimpy "lobbying reform" bill last spring that barely touched earmarks and didn't even ban taking gifts and meals from lobbyists. That bill isn't going anywhere anyway. It's still lingering in a House-Senate conference committee, where it's apparently been consigned to permanent limbo.
....
The stench is worse today than in 1994. The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has ballooned to the point there are over 60 of them for every single member of Congress. They spent $2.4 billion last year. What do you think the lobbyists bought with that money?
A lot of it was for earmarks, obviously -- specific morsels of bacon designed to pay off some big donors back home. Most folks back home don't see a penny of it. It goes into the pockets of conduits like Jack Abramoff. And taxpayers foot the bill for all the earmarks for every specially-favored interest all over the country. Ten years ago there were about 3,000 earmarks. Last year there were over 14,000, costing taxpayers over $47 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service.
(The entire piece is here.)
from CommonDreams
Democrats seem on the way to retaking the House. But what will they inherit? Recent polls show just one in four Americans thinks Congress is doing a good job. That’s not surprising considering the stench of corruption that emanates from Capitol Hill.
The surprising thing is Republicans aren't taking the public's "kick the rascals out" mood more seriously. You'd think after the Jack Abramoff scandal had spread to Tom DeLay and Ohio Republican Bob Ney, and after former California Rep Duke Cunningham pleaded guilty to bribery –- that after all, Speaker Dennis Hastert and his leadership team would have recognized the need for some dramatic action.
Instead they produced a wimpy "lobbying reform" bill last spring that barely touched earmarks and didn't even ban taking gifts and meals from lobbyists. That bill isn't going anywhere anyway. It's still lingering in a House-Senate conference committee, where it's apparently been consigned to permanent limbo.
....
The stench is worse today than in 1994. The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has ballooned to the point there are over 60 of them for every single member of Congress. They spent $2.4 billion last year. What do you think the lobbyists bought with that money?
A lot of it was for earmarks, obviously -- specific morsels of bacon designed to pay off some big donors back home. Most folks back home don't see a penny of it. It goes into the pockets of conduits like Jack Abramoff. And taxpayers foot the bill for all the earmarks for every specially-favored interest all over the country. Ten years ago there were about 3,000 earmarks. Last year there were over 14,000, costing taxpayers over $47 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service.
(The entire piece is here.)
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