When Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson first announced his $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) promised: “We will not Christmas-tree this bill. The times are too urgent. Everyone has their own desires and needs. It’s going to have to wait.” So how did Congress live up to Schumer’s promise? When the bill finally passed, in addition to the $700 billion given to Paulson, another $150 billion in goodies was also given to special interests, including tax breaks for makers of wooden toy bow-and-arrow sets. The same kind …
Many conservatives have already voiced their displeasure with the House Republican leadership’s decision to appoint Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) to the Appropriations Committee instead of Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). As righteous as conservative anger is over the decision, it might be more useful to look forward. After Bonner’s appointment was announced, Congressional Quarterly wrote a story, “Path to Appropriations May Not Follow Money.” The piece noted that under former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), there was a pay-to-play system Republican members had to participate in to get on the Appropriations …
