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Democrats Gut Reform, Protect Secret Earmarks
Labor-HHS-Military-VA conference report strikes ban on backdoor “phonemarks”, hides earmarks in report language while giving them force of law |
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November 6, 2007 - Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) made the following statement after learning that Democrats gutted earmark reform and created a gimmick to force the government to fund hidden earmarks.
The Democrat Congress stripped a provision from the Labor-HHS-Military-VA conference report, which prohibited agencies from funding backdoor earmarks requested by lawmakers through secret phone calls and letters. Senator DeMint authored S.Amendment 3340 to ban “phonemarking,” which was unanimously approved by the Senate in October. Now that the provision has been secretly gutted in conference, there is now no rule prohibiting Members of Congress from calling cabinet secretaries to request funding for pet projects that bypass the normal competitive and merit-based allocations process.
“Democrats can’t let go of their pork and keep inventing new ways to stop new earmark disclosure rules and bypass the old ones,” said Senator DeMint. “Democrats agreed to stop secret backdoor earmarks, but now they’ve broken that promise and gutted the reforms we passed just weeks ago. There is nothing to stop politicians from picking up the phone and to pressure agencies into funding their pet projects. This is exactly why America has a crisis of confidence in Congress. Politicians say one thing and do another.”
Not only have new earmark reforms been stopped, Democrats hid their earmarks in a separate report to avoid public scrutiny, but then used language in the bill referencing the report so their earmarks have the force of law:
Provided, That funding provided to carry out projects under section 171 of the WIA that are identified in the statement of the managers on the conference report accompanying this Act, … (Joint Statement Accompanying the Bill, page 6)
The Congressional Research Service concluded last year that report language earmarks are not legally binding and federal agencies can ignore them. However, this new gimmick circumvents existing rules, and will now force agencies to fund politician’s pet projects without having to write their projects into our bills where they can be openly debated, amended, and voted on.
The President has said that he will not recognize these backdoor earmarks because the Congress does not vote on them and he does not sign them into law. Former OMB Director Rob Portman stated in a memorandum earlier this year to all federal agencies that, “While the Administration welcomes input to help make informed decisions, no oral or written communication concerning earmarks shall supersede statutory criteria, competitive awards, or merit-based decision-making...”
“Democrats have created a new gimmick to keep their wasteful pork hidden from public debate, while still forcing the President to fund them. These shameful backroom deals are exactly why Congress continues to earn its lowest approval rating in history.”
MORE ON PHONEMARKS:
As Roll Call reported on October 17th: The Senate on Tuesday backed a prohibition on federal agencies covered under the Commerce, Justice and science appropriations bill from using letters, phone calls or other communications from lawmakers in determining how to spend federal funds.
The amendment, offered by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and approved by voice vote, is the latest in a series of provisions DeMint and other Members have proposed to strengthen the key provisions of the ethics and earmark reform package passed by Congress earlier this year…
Bill Allison, a senior fellow at the Sunlight Foundation, agreed, arguing the prohibitions on phonemarks are needed in order to keep Congress honest. “One of the big problems with Congress is that they pass rules and then quickly find ways around them,” Allison explained. “Any attempt to cut down on these backdoor ways of getting money to these favored recipients is a step in the right direction.”
In a Washington Post article earlier this year entitled “In the Democratic Congress, Pork Still Gets Served,” the practice was clearly outlined:Phonemarking is another way lawmakers are trying to secure money for projects outside of the new congressional appropriations process by going directly to federal agencies.
After the House finished with the Energy Department spending bill, [Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid sent a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman on Feb. 1, saying that there were no earmarks. Then came a “however.”
Reid, as a senator from the electricity-needy West, noted that the legislation set aside $300 million in new money for research in energy efficiency and renewable energy and suggested that some money be used to reverse the administration's original plan to end its geothermal-energy research program.
Reid demanded that the administration fund the geothermal program at 2006 levels or higher. ‘Geothermal energy has the potential to cleanly and renewably satisfy the new electricity needs of the West,’ he wrote.
Reid also asked the administration to expand a federal loan program to include geothermal research projects. Other lawmakers, from both parties, inundated the Energy Department with similar requests.
Democrats slammed such practices when Republicans ruled the House, but such calls and letters have not let up in the Democratic Congress, executive branch officials said.”
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