With No Plan to Cut Spending, House Democrats Hatch Plan to Keep Earmarking
Will Obama Enforce Earmark Ban After Democrat Appropriator’s Sneaky Move?
President Obama pledged after his inauguration that his administration would be “the most open and transparent in history.” To that end, he promised in his 2011 State of the Union Address that he would veto any bill containing earmarks:
“President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history…” (“Change Has Come to WhiteHouse.gov,” The White House, 1/20/2009)
“President Obama said in his State of the Union address that he would veto any bill that contained earmarks, his strongest statement against the longstanding congressional spending tactic.
“‘Both parties in Congress should know this: If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks in it, I will veto it,’ the president said.” (Abby Phillip, “Obama: I Will Veto Earmarked Bills,” Politico, 1/25/2011)
However, one of his House Democrat allies, Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), now has a plan to get around Obama’s pledge, House rules and Senate Appropriations Committee rules. Now that his fellow Democrat has been caught with his hand in the earmark cookie jar, will Obama backtrack on his promise to end earmarking, or will Obama and House Democrats stop Moran from robbing taxpayers?
REP. JIM MORAN (D-VA): “A House Democrat indicated Thursday that lawmakers are getting around the new ban on earmarks by convincing Obama administration officials to fund their pet projects.
“Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), an appropriator, made the remarks during an appearance on C-SPAN’s ‘Washington Journal’ program.
“In response to a question about whether earmark bans have ‘curtailed’ the Appropriations Committee’s power, Moran responded, ‘No, and I have to say — and I’m going to be as candid as possible — the appropriators are going to be okay because we know people in agencies and so on. We will continue to do the best job we can for the country and to some extent for our congressional districts because that’s our job as well.’ …
“‘Every dollar is earmarked. It’s just a question of who does the earmarking,’ Moran said.” (Daniel Strauss, “House Appropriator: We Know How To Get Around Earmark Ban,” The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, 3/3/2011)