U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues Tuesday in announcing the introduction of a bill establishing an independent, bipartisan commission to recommend reforms to the earmarking process.
Any effort to curb a process that remains out of control despite recent legislation is worthy of support.
Earmarks are funds provided by the Congress for projects or programs that bypass the normal congressional approval process. They are for a specific amount of money to a particular organization or project in a legislator's home state or district.
The amount spent on congressional earmarks hit an all-time high in fiscal year 2006, with $29 billion spent on nearly 10,000 projects.
A moratorium on earmarks was in place in 2007, and in 2008 earmarks were cut by more than half. Still, the $14.8 billion in fiscal year 2008 congressional earmarking was distributed with little scrutiny and attention to project merits.
"Abuse of the earmarking system has eroded the public's trust in the process and overshadowed the worthy projects earmarks often fund," said Kind, who has imposed on himself a one-year moratorium on his own earmark requests while he works to reform the process. "Any member of Congress, whether they are an advocate or a foe of earmarks, needs to be accountable to the taxpayers for the staggering growth in earmark spending."
Current congressional and executive branch earmarking practices have no safeguards to protect taxpayer dollars against waste.
This is where Kind's legislation comes into play.
Kind's bill would establish an independent, bipartisan commission to recommend reforms to the earmarking process.
The commission, Kind said, would formally define an earmark and examine the earmarking process to develop and recommend reforms that would increase transparency, equity and fiscal responsibility in the process.
The commission's 12 members would be appointed by the speaker, the House minority leader, the Senate majority and minority leaders, and the president. They would be required to report back to Congress within six months.
Specifically, the commission would examine:
• Disparities in funding across communities and regions;
• The practice of securing earmarks for for-profit companies;
• The impact of earmarks on the federal budget; and
• The usefulness and sufficiency of current disclosure requirements
"Further reform is necessary," Kind said. "And this commission can help us restore integrity to the earmarking process."
We agree, and urge the House, and later the Senate, to seriously consider Kind's bill.
Any effort to curb a process that remains out of control despite recent legislation is worthy of support.
Earmarks are funds provided by the Congress for projects or programs that bypass the normal congressional approval process. They are for a specific amount of money to a particular organization or project in a legislator's home state or district.
The amount spent on congressional earmarks hit an all-time high in fiscal year 2006, with $29 billion spent on nearly 10,000 projects.
A moratorium on earmarks was in place in 2007, and in 2008 earmarks were cut by more than half. Still, the $14.8 billion in fiscal year 2008 congressional earmarking was distributed with little scrutiny and attention to project merits.
"Abuse of the earmarking system has eroded the public's trust in the process and overshadowed the worthy projects earmarks often fund," said Kind, who has imposed on himself a one-year moratorium on his own earmark requests while he works to reform the process. "Any member of Congress, whether they are an advocate or a foe of earmarks, needs to be accountable to the taxpayers for the staggering growth in earmark spending."
Current congressional and executive branch earmarking practices have no safeguards to protect taxpayer dollars against waste.
This is where Kind's legislation comes into play.
Kind's bill would establish an independent, bipartisan commission to recommend reforms to the earmarking process.
The commission, Kind said, would formally define an earmark and examine the earmarking process to develop and recommend reforms that would increase transparency, equity and fiscal responsibility in the process.
The commission's 12 members would be appointed by the speaker, the House minority leader, the Senate majority and minority leaders, and the president. They would be required to report back to Congress within six months.
Specifically, the commission would examine:
• Disparities in funding across communities and regions;
• The practice of securing earmarks for for-profit companies;
• The impact of earmarks on the federal budget; and
• The usefulness and sufficiency of current disclosure requirements
"Further reform is necessary," Kind said. "And this commission can help us restore integrity to the earmarking process."
We agree, and urge the House, and later the Senate, to seriously consider Kind's bill.
