Lawmakers may not be giving up earmarks en masse, but the negative stigma of pork-barrel spending has rubbed off on some members of Congress. In the Senate, conservative champion Jim DeMint and veteran appropriator Ted Stevens clashed openly during a meeting late last year. DeMint acknowledged that his quest to end earmarks has earned him “a lot of enemies” within his own party. Over in the House, DeMint’s message appears to be gaining traction. Take recent remarks from Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, for example. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, …
The Politico reports today that fiscal conservatives face several hurdles in their quest to end earmarks, not the least of which is that “Democrats last year actually approved fewer earmarks than Republicans did when they ran Congress.” A closer look at the numbers reveals that isn’t exactly true. Liberals are comparing the fiscal 2008 total of 11,043 to the fiscal 2005 total of 13,997. What they don’t tell you is that this year’s number is the second highest on record and it’s a sharp increase from the past two years. …
Reports following Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Monday meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicate that House Democrats are considering a $100 billion economic stimulus package that “money for ailing state governments, higher Medicaid spending and an increase in food stamp payments.” Completely ignoring their election promise to pay for any proposal increased spending by raising taxes or cutting spending elsewhere, Democrats are also considering tax rebates of $300 to $500. Such a plan would not help stimulate the economy since tax rebates do no stimulate the economy. Tax cuts do. …
