Article Archives by Subject: Earmarks
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Sen. John Cornyn |
Subject: What Are a Few Earmarks Between Friends!
In a news article by Dan Weil titled,
Earmark Ban Likely to Become Earmark Reform, he reports
that some Republicans are already backing off from their November 16th
pledge, and are working to reintroduce earmarks! That's right. Only
one day into the congressional session and this is one of the
"hot" topics that most concerns these Republicans. Well, it
certainly tells you where their interests lie.
In this article, Senator John Cornyn of TX is quoted as saying,
"Most people think we need earmark reform — not a ban",
while Senator Lamar Alexander waffles with, "Earmarks are still a
subject that we have to work out." Oh really? I thought
it was made quite clear that an outright ban was supported by the
voters, and that there was nothing left to "work out".
While earmarks may not be the highest priority issue for those of us
wanting to see much of last year's legislation repealed, along with
other massive reductions in the size and scope of government, this is
an extremely important symbolic issue. The Republicans made a pledge
to the American people in response to a clear message being sent during
the last election. And now, they simply think that they can ignore
that promise and continue to do whatever they wish! The level of
contempt that this demonstrates for the American public — and
especially for those who worked so diligently over the past two years
to see them elected — is staggering. Let's not let them get
away with this.
A Call To Activism:The progressive Democrats in Congress are a lost cause. There is no point in contacting them as they have clearly demonstrated that they are not responsive to anyone, as they pursue their preordained agenda. It is the Republicans upon whom we must focus our attention, and in this instance we cannot afford to let them get away with this breach. We must act swiftly and in unison to send the message that we are watching their every move and will no longer tolerate abuses of this kind. So I am asking every reader to take a few minutes to write to their Republican Senators and Representatives, as well as to those who have not staked out a clear anti-earmark position, like Cornyn and Alexander. Through our numbers, let's make our voices heard. Let them know that the American public is on fire, and if they continue to play with us, they will surely get burned!
To send an email message to Lamar Alexander, click here. To find the address of you Senator or Representative, click here.
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Taxpayers Against Earmarks |
Subject: Activism in Action: The Tea Party Movement Racks Up Its
First Win of The Season!
NOTE: This is a follow-up to my earlier article: So You Want to Hang On to Those Earmarks? We'll See About That! Earlier today, many news outlets, including The Christian Science Monitor, The Hill, and Investors Business Daily, reported that GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had bent to the will of the American public and changed his position regarding the Republican party's upcoming proposal for a two-year ban on attaching pork-barrel earmarks to legislation. Only one week earlier, Politico was reporting that McConnell was:
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Mitch McConnell |
Subject: So You Want to Hang On to Those Earmarks? We'll See
About That!
Earlier today the online news site, Politico,
reported that Jim DeMint was marshaling Republicans to get behind a
plan to restrict earmarks from future congressional legislation.
You know what we're talking about here; things like the $300 million
Louisiana
Purchase, or the $100 million
Cornhusker
Kickback, or Chris Dodd's $100 million
"grant"
for construction of an unspecified Connecticut university hospital, or
the grandaddy of them all, the $60 billion
Cadillac Tax
for the benefit of the Unions, all of which were, at one point,
included as part of the recently passed health care (i.e.,
Obamacare) legislation.
Of course, these follow in the proud tradition of Alaskian Ted Steven's
$230 million
Bridge To Nowhere,
or Virginia Foxx and Richard Burr's $500,000 to build a
Teapot Museum
in Sparta, NC, or then Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill's $14.6 billion
for a 3.5 mile long Massachusetts
Big Dig
highway project, or $3.4 million to build a
Turtle Tunnel
in Florida, or $19 million to study the environmental effects of
Cow Flatulence.
And the list goes on, and on, and on... According to
Wikipedia,
in 2005, federal legislation contained an estimated 16,000 earmarks
totaling roughly $48 billion, and
CBS News,
reports that the 2010 Federal budget alone contained 5,000 earmarks
which totaled roughly $14 billion, which is on top of the 2009 stimulus
allocation of $787 billion.
So, considering the mood of the country as was recently exhibited
in the mid-term elections, with the voters rejecting sixty-six
congressional tax-and-spend progressives and replacing them with
fiscal conservative, it would seem like a no-brainer to support
DeMint's proposal to reign in the abuse of earmarks. Right? Well,
that's apparently not how many of the long-standing congressional
Republicans see it.
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US Congress |
Subject: An Open Letter to Congress on Health Care
I have just read an article in the New
York Times which indicates that this weekend, President Obama is
planning to send health care legislation to Congress, designed to be
attached to a budget bill, and rammed through the Senate using the now
widely publicized scam known as "budget reconciliation".
After everything that has been said and written about this issue, I
find this action truly unbelievable!
Did Washington not receive the clear message that we the people
sent to all of you with the recent election of Scott Brown in
Massachusetts? If not, let me repeat it for you once again:
We don't want the house version of the health care legislation. We
don't want the senate version of the health care legislation. We
don't want the President's version of health care legislation. We
don't want the Democrat's version of health care legislation. We
don't want the Republican's version of health care legislation.
WE DON'T WANT THE GOVERNMENT TO BE INVOLVED WITH OUR HEALTH CARE
IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM!
We don't want the government controlling our lives and we don't want
you interfering with the personal medical decision that we choose to
make in consultation with our doctors. We don't want to be forced to
obtain health insurance under penalty of fines and/or jail. We don't
want our health providers and insurance companies to be regulated,
forced to act against their own best professional interests, any more
than we wish that upon ourselves. We don't want any new taxes. And
we certainly don't want another huge financial liability imposed upon
productive Americans, who already shoulder the unreasonable burden
that you and your fellow legislators have placed there with a $12.4
trillion debt and a shiny new $3.8 trillion budget.
Now, this draconian legislation that will cost trillions of additional
dollars, is supposed to be added to a budget bill as though it were
just another typical pork-barrel earmark! And this from the President
that pledged to reform earmarks and make "his administration the
most open and transparent in history." I hope that this is not a
process that you are seriously considering supporting. Instead, you
should be doing everything within your power to stop this abomination
dead in its tracks.
I'm watching, and so are millions of other concerned Americans all
across the nation. And each day, with each new insult that emanates
from Washington D.C., thousands more join our ranks. Most of us are
simple citizens who would much rather be tending to our daily lives,
but instead have been drawn onto the political stage by a steady
stream of audacious actions so abusive to our individual rights, and
so far outside the constitutional scope and powers granted to the
federal government, that we are compelled to act. Through the growing
Tea Party movement we are organizing, and as was just witnessed in MA,
we will produce results.
The choice you face is simple: you must decide what you intend to do
in response to our growing numbers and strength. You can commit
political suicide by charging ahead, supporting this legislation in
the belief that your election to Congress has somehow granted you the
right to force your wishes upon the American public against their will.
Or you can sit on the sidelines, trying to remain unnoticed as this
bill is pushed forward. Unfortunately, that's an old political tactic
that no longer works under the new Tea Party reality, and this cowardly
approach will have you targeted as well. Or you can stand up and
loudly proclaim your opposition to this legislation on constitutional
grounds. By taking a vocal, principled stand in service of the rights
of every citizen you were elected to represent, you can transform
yourself into a hero of the new political movement that is prepared
to sweep across the national landscape. Make your choice -- or the
choice will be made for you.
Sincerely, -- C. Jeffery Small |
