Congressional Republicans are preparing to once again attempting to bring back earmarks, known colloquially as pork-barrel spending. If passed, the amendment sponsored by Reps. John Culberson of Texas, Mike Rogers of Alabama, and Tom Rooney of Florida, will “bring back legislative earmarks for some government agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Bureau of Reclamation. It also would allow lawmakers to provide earmarks for state and local governments, except for recreational facilities, museums, or parks,” according to an analysis by The Daily Signal.
Lawmakers are set to vote on the amendment on Wednesday in a secret-ballot. So much for transparency.
The last time the House GOP tried to reintroduce earmarks was in 2014. At the time, the sponsors were overwhelmed by conservatives after a contentious debate at the GOP conference.
Opposition to the earmark spending isn’t exclusive to the conservative flank of the party, however. In fact, then-Speaker of the House John Boehner helped spearhead a voluntary ban on earmarks in 2010, despite the GOP’s minority status in Congress. And in 2008, Republican presidential candidate John McCain outlined his extensive plans to shut down pork-barrel spending as part of his debt-reduction platform.
But as expected, so-called public servants rarely listen to their constituents. It seems like House Republicans haven’t learned their lesson from the Tea Party insurrection.
On a national level, Americans, especially fiscal conservatives, loathe pork-barrel spending. In the public lexicon, pork barrel spending has become synonymous with everything that’s wrong with Washington: government excess, inflated bureaucracy, and utter waste.
So why do lawmakers continue to wage a campaign to reintroduce earmarks?
Earmarks are a great way to include specific provisions in bills that cater to local constituencies. In making earmarks great again, lawmakers hope to regain an invaluable tool to use federal funds for local and state projects.
