Though it may contain billions worth of earmarks they requested, most Senate Republicans are outraged at the 2,000-page omnibus spending package. However, if even a few GOP Senators vote ‘yes,’ the bill would have a good chance of passing.
The prime culprits are the Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee (whence the pork abomination came). They are the ones most likely to be targeted, and potentially swayed, by Senate Democrats to support the bill. GOP aides are worried about these members, but are optimistic they have the votes to block the bill.
Retiring Sen. Bob Bennett (R., Utah) has already announced his intention to support the omnibus, while three others – Sens. Kit Bond (R., Mo.), Susan Collins (R., Maine), and George Voinovich (R., Ohio), who is also retiring – have said they would consider voting yes, but are currently reviewing the massive bill.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) is also “still reviewing” the package. Sen. Thad Cochran (R., Miss.) has not announced his position yet, but requested more than $560,000,000* worth of earmarks in the bill, so go figure.
Judd Gregg (R., N.H.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R., Texas) plan to vote against the package. Sens. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), Sam Brownback (R., Kan.) and Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) are likely no’s, but their offices did not return a request for comment.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) told reporters earlier today that the omnibus represents a “consequential vote” for Republicans, and said he hoped Republicans could find the votes to defeat it. “Second acts are hard to get in life…particularly in politics,” Graham said. “We got a second lease on life… not because of anything we did, because of [the Democrats’] screw-ups, and if the first thing we do is quietly let this go through, then our second act is over before it begins.”
*Editor’s Note: This figure is an NRO calculation based on data made available by the office of Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.)
THE LAST FEAST: 6,488 EARMARKS
Tue Dec 14 2010 19:40:02 ET
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) delivered the following statement today on the floor of the U.S. Senate:
“Mr. President, at 12:15 p.m. this afternoon, my office received a copy of the omnibus appropriations bill. It is 1,924 pages long and contains the funding for all 12 of the annual appropriations bills for a grand total of over $1.1 Trillion. It is important to note that the 1,924 pages is only the legislative language and does not include the thousands of pages of report language which contain the details of the billions of dollars in earmarks and, I’m sure, countless policy riders.
“While we continue to uncover which earmarks the appropriators decided to fund – thanks to a new online database – we at least know what earmarks were requested by Members and how much those projects would cost the American people if they were all funded. Taxpayers against Earmarks, www.washingtonwatch.com and Taxpayers for Common Sense joined forces to create this database. According to the data they compiled – for fiscal year 2011 Members requested over 39,000 earmarks totaling over $130 billion. Absolutely disgraceful. I encourage every American to go to the website www.endingspending.com study it, and make yourselves aware of how your elected officials seek to spend your money.
“In the short time I’ve had to review this massive piece of legislation – I’ve identified approximately 6,488 earmarks totaling nearly $8.3 billion. Here is a small sample:
$277,000 for potato pest management in Wisconsin
$246,000 for bovine tuberculosis in Michigan and Minnesota
$522,000 for cranberry and blueberry disease and breeding in New Jersey
$500,000 for oyster safety in Florida
$349,000 for swine waste management in North Carolina
$413,000 for peanut research in Alabama
$247,000 for virus free wine grapes in Washington
$208,000 beaver management in North Carolina
$94,000 for blackbird management in Louisiana
$165,000 for maple syrup research in Vermont
$235,000 for noxious weed management in Nevada
$100,000 for the Edgar Allen Poe Cottage Visitor’s Center in New York
$300,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii
$400,000 for solar parking canopies and plug-in electric stations in Kansas
“Additionally, the bill earmarks $727,000 to compensate ranchers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan whenever endangered wolves eat their cattle. As my colleagues know, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Gray Wolf program is under intense scrutiny for wasting millions of taxpayer dollars every year to ‘recover’ endangered wolves that are now overpopulating the West and Midwest. My State of Arizona has a similar wolf program but ranchers in my state aren’t getting $727,000 in this bill.
“Mr. President, I will have much more to say about this bill later this week. I assure my colleagues – we will spend a great deal of time talking about this bill and the outrageous number of earmarks it contains. But for now let me just say this: it is December 14th – we are 22 days away from the beginning of a new Congress and nearly three full months into fiscal year 2011 – and yet we have not debated a single spending bill or considered any amendments to cut costs or get our debt under control. Furthermore, the majority decided that they just didn’t feel like doing a budget this year. How is that responsible leadership?
“This is the ninth omnibus appropriations bill we have considered in this body since 2000. That is shameful and we should be embarrassed by the fact that we care so little about doing the people’s business that we continuously put off fulfilling our constitutional responsibilities until the very last minute.
“One thing is abundantly clear to me – that the majority has not learned the lessons of last month’s election. The American people could not have been more clear. They are tired of wasteful spending. They are tired of big government. They are tired of sweetheart deals for special interests. They are tired of business as usual in Washington. And they are tired of massive bills – just like this one - put together behind closed doors, and rammed through the Congress at the last moment so that no one has the opportunity to read them and no one really knows what kind of waste is in them.
“Let me be clear about one thing – if the Majority Leader insists on proceeding to this monstrosity - the American people will know what’s in it. I will be joined by many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle to ensure that every single word of this bill is read aloud here on the Senate floor.
“I encourage my friends on the other side of the aisle to rethink their strategy and move forward with a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government into next year when a new Congress takes over – a Congress that was elected by the American people on November 2nd. “The majority may be able to strong arm enough members into voting for this omnibus – but they will not win in the end. The American people will remember – and I predict that we will see a repeat of November 2nd in the very near future.”
Redistribution on steroids
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
When absurdity gives way to hilarity, you must be talking about politics.
In the midst of a colossal global concern for the economic stability of our great nation, Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri's 5th Congressional District representative, has one small earmark on his wish list that deserves some attention.
Cleaver has listed a new earmark -- one of several -- and he promises to "fight for every one." But this is a whopping $48 billion package that must go down as the grandaddy of all earmarks.
Proposed by a gentleman named Lamar Mickens, president of the not-for-profit Quality Day Campus, the $48 billion earmark would funnel money into the inner cities to give money to the poor and thereby produce a much larger consumer class to buy the goods and services produced in this country.
Just call this redistribution on steroids.
Cleaver's office says this of the proposal:
"The Epicenter is a proposed estimated $48 billion (Phase One) mass scale urban reclamation project for combating, reducing, reversing and/or eliminating poverty within under served communities by utilizing mass scale economic redevelopment to bring about stability and self reliance.
OK. So the idea is short of specifics.
Currently Mickens operates this massive proposal out of his home but with Cleaver's help, this earmark could put him on the road to success.
Cleaver provides a link to a Mickens "manifesto" where a lengthy agenda is outlined -- but again with no specifics other than the rich should provide money to the poor so that the poor will have more money to spend.
But wait, there's more.
Apparently this is not the first time Cleaver has promoted this massive redistribution plan. Alas, past attempts obviously have been unsuccessful.
It matters little where you fall on the earmark debate. I've said countless times that earmarks that assist your region are always worthwhile projects while those that benefit another region are pork projects. That is the patent hypocrisy of earmarks.
But by any definition, Cleaver has clearly not gotten the memo that we're in a financial crisis.
The sole puzzling aspect of Cleaver's earmark is the price tag. Why not make it a cool $100 billion or perhaps more.
If you truly believe that fairness involves this massive shift of money, then why mess with a paltry $48 billion.
Wait. I forgot. This is just Phase One.
Now I understand.
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