House Republicans are looking to bring back the earmark.

Quiet discussions are beginning, behind closed doors, about bringing back earmarks. Why? Because legislators can’t pass spending bills on their own merits. In order to get 218 votes, they need to festoon bills with funding for congressmen’s pet projects. It’s easy for legislators cast spending as “wasteful spending” if it doesn’t funnel money directly into their district. (Funny how billions in “wasteful spending” are rendered non-wasteful with a few million well-targeted dollars.) I think earmarks can be made acceptable, with plenty of transparency in both the process and the allocated funding. 

Published by Waldo Jaquith

Waldo Jaquith (JAKE-with) is an open government technologist who lives near Char­lottes­­ville, VA, USA. more »

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