Contact: Agustina Guerrero (813)871-2817

Not So Painful To Disclose
Tampa Tribune Editorial

Capitol Dome

Washington, May 23, 2007 - One of the biggest complaints about Washington spending is that members of Congress frequently refuse to share information about the way they spend our money.

But since the Democrats took power, disclosure laws have changed. Now if a funding request - called an earmark - makes its way into the final budget, the member seeking the expenditure must be named. But if the request doesn't pass muster, no one ever knows.

Three members of our local delegation - freshman Democrat Kathy Castor, freshman Republican Gus Bilirakis and Adam Putnam, the third-ranking Republican in the House - should be congratulated for releasing their funding requests before the budget is finalized.

It's too bad that their Bay-area colleagues - Republicans Bill Young and Ginny Brown-Waite - refused to follow suit and release their spending requests. Failing to do so leaves the impression that they're trying to hide something.

Within reason, there's no shame in representatives seeking funds for unique projects in their districts. That's part of why they're in Washington. Castor disclosed 49 requests totaling more than $156.4 million. Bilirakis revealed 35 earmark requests of nearly $100 million. And Putnam is seeking $51 million for 26 projects.

By revealing their requests, these honorable representatives are telling us something about themselves and leaving it to us - informed citizens - to determine whether earmarks amount to pork.