The Foundry

Posts Tagged ‘executive order’

• A Toothless Commission On Spending Is No Substitute for True Leadership

  Posted February 18th, 2010 at 5:00pm in Enterprise and Free Markets with 19 comments

  The recent debt limit increase passed by Congress has sparked a national debate on how to adequately reverse out-of-control federal spending. After much congressional hand-wringing recently over what budget process reform to attach to the must-pass increase in the debt ceiling, support for a bipartisan commission crafted by Senate Budget Committee leaders Kent Conrad [...] More

• Morning Bell: White House Fecklessness on Spending Exposed

  Posted January 29th, 2008 at 8:54am in Ongoing Priorities with 0 comments

  President Bush may have promised to veto any spending bill that does not cut the number and cost of earmarks in half, but as commentators were quick to point out, since Democrats are planning on holding back spending bills till the next President takes office, the threat is virtually worthless. Equally unhelpful is the White [...] More

• The President, the Presentment Clause, and Earmarks

  Posted January 28th, 2008 at 10:58pm in Ongoing Priorities with 1 comments

  In addressing earmarks in the State of the Union, President Bush said, “I also asked you to stop slipping earmarks into committee reports that never even come to a vote. … [T]omorrow, I will issue an executive order that directs federal agencies to ignore any future earmark that is not voted on by the Congress. [...] More

• Positive Pork Reform, but Also a Missed Opportunity

  Posted January 28th, 2008 at 9:17pm in Ongoing Priorities with 0 comments

  Taxpayers should welcome President Bush’s pledge in the State of the Union to veto spending bills that do not cut the number of earmarks in half. At the same time, Bush could have done so much more to address the surge in earmarks. Last year’s State of the Union message included a similar pledge to halve [...] More

• McCain Says Bush Redeemed Himself on Earmarks

  Posted January 28th, 2008 at 6:26pm in Ongoing Priorities with 0 comments

  Sen. John McCain, a leading opponent of earmarking, today praised President Bush for his plan to issue an executive order cracking down on pork-barrel spending. During a conference call with bloggers, McCain said he was rejoicing at the thought of angry appropriators in Congress. “Thank God he’s doing it,” McCain said of Bush. “I don’t have [...] More

• Bush’s Earmark Executive Order Disappoints Conservatives

  Posted January 28th, 2008 at 12:07pm in Ongoing Priorities with 0 comments

  President Bush will issue an executive order tomorrow that directs federal agencies to ignore any future earmark that is not voted on by lawmakers and included in a law approved by Congress. It’s a long-overdue step by the administration to curtail earmarks, but falls short of what conservatives had hoped Bush would do. Bush’s maneuver will [...] More

• Good Advice for Congress: ‘Stand Up or Leave’

  Posted January 23rd, 2008 at 10:08pm in Enterprise and Free Markets with 0 comments

  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 [...] More

• Fact Check: Earmarks Didn’t Drop Under Democrats

  Posted January 23rd, 2008 at 9:57pm in Enterprise and Free Markets with 0 comments

  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 [...] More

• Fred Thompson Says Bush Should Ignore Earmarks

  Posted January 10th, 2008 at 3:28pm in Ongoing Priorities with 0 comments

  Just days after releasing a plan to reduce government spending, Fred Thompson continued his assault on earmarks, promising today that if elected president he would sign an executive order canceling lawmakers’ pork-barrel projects. President Bush is considering the idea, which is strongly opposed by congressional appropriators but supported by fiscal conservatives. Thompson fielded questions from bloggers [...] More

• McCain Supports Anti-Earmark Executive Order

  Posted January 9th, 2008 at 11:31pm in Ongoing Priorities with 0 comments

  A day after his victory in the New Hampshire primary, Sen. John McCain spoke with bloggers about a variety of issues, including the option of a presidential executive order canceling earmarks in the omnibus spending bill. Erick Erickson of RedState posed the question to the Arizona senator, who has long been a critic of pork-barrel [...] More