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Opinion
S.
C. senators join move to reduce ‘pork’ spending
February
16, 2006
“Pork”
spending, whether in the South Carolina Legislature or
Congress, is a two-edged sword. Taxpayers want to cut out this
unnecessary spending ..... and taxpayers want “pork barrel”
projects that will benefit them.
That, of course, is hard
for some elected lawmakers to deal with. Some want to do both
and that, obviously, can’t be done. As they say, they have to
fish or cut bait, there is no in-between.
Reality being
reality, it may not get very far, but some members of Congress
have tackled the problem. That includes South Carolina’s two
U. S. Senators, Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint. They are in a
group of 10 senators - eight Republicans and two Democrats -
who have signed on to Sen. John McCain’s “Pork Barrel
Reduction Act.”
IT BUCKS THE SENATE’S
too-often practice of inserting members’ special projects into
larger spending bills. More often than not, this adds on
pork-project funding to larger spending bills, often without
other members knowing about it.
It is the latest in a
number of proposals promoting ways to restore integrity to the
political process. It comes after several ethics and lobbying
scandals.
It would work like this. It would allow senators
to raise points of order against special projects - or
earmarks, as they are called - that are attached to spending
bills without having been approved by the relevant committee.
Under the procedure, 60 votes would be needed to override the
point of order and keep the provision in the bill.
It also
would require that earmarks be described in detail and the
sponsor would have to be identified.
CRITICS
COMPLAIN THAT earmarks are often put in bills after
they are passed by the House and Senate. Lawmakers, they say,
are forced to vote on huge spending bills put together by
House and Senate negotiators without knowing what’s in the
bills. There’s no question that many
taxpayers are outraged at the scandals swirling these days
around some members from both houses, Democrat and Republican.
Most, no doubt, would applaud Graham, DeMint and the others
for trying to right the wrong. However, considering the clamor
by constituents for their elected lawmakers to “bring home the
bacon,” and the lawmakers all too willing to comply while
“mining” their constituencies for re-election votes, if this
bill passes, it will be surprising.
Nevertheless, the effort is worthwhile. It draws and helps
keep attention on a practice that, in the longrun, costs
everyone ..... but the returns don’t always benefit everyone.
Editorial expression in this feature represents
our own views.
Opinions are limited to this page.
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