Jack Kingston

I have always been a strong supporter of transparency and budget reform and budget cutting.  When I chaired the Legislative Branch Appropriations subcommittee, I was the only “Cardinal” to bring in a bill with real budget reductions, and below even that year’s budget allocation, 2 years in a row.

I strongly supported the lobbying and earmark reform proposal when it first passed the House this spring.  At that time I fought to ensure that any final product would treat all committees, all legislation, and both the House and the Senate with the same transparency and protections against embarrassing, unnecessary and wasteful spending and sweet-heart deals.  While a good step forward, yesterday’s vote to change House rules does not go far enough.

Here are some things you should know.  First, this rule was not “THE” vote on earmark reform, but rather a temporary 3 month patch that applies only to this Congress so that we will need to come back and do another bill.  Second, the rule doesn’t include the Senate.  True earmark reform must encompass both Houses of Congress.

Finally, this rule does not measure all committees by the same yardstick.  For example, had the earmark reform rules passed yesterday been in place, none of the earmark reforms (disclosure, Members names, points of order) would have applied to the pension reform bill which passed before the recess.  That bill contained over 275 earmarks that were ‘air-dropped” into the pension bill, including:

• $50 million for the Going-to-the-Sun road in Montana
• $18 million in tax breaks for the City of Hoonah, Alaska for an electricity project
• $38 million in duty relief for Sony
• $32 million in duty relief for Bayer
• $55 million in duty relief and refund payments for certain wool manufacturers
• $1.6 million in duty relief for Estee Lauder makeup
• $3.5 million in duty relief for Payless Shoes

It is precisely these kinds of special interest earmarks that when not subject to transparency, disclosure or challenge on the floor, give us a black-eye.  Some may be good ideas and some may be bad, but without transparency, disclosure and debate we will never know until one hits the front pages and then it is too late.

Last year’s higway bill contained $7 billion more in earmarks than all of the annual spending bills combined.  Congress has also passed a trade measure which included a $9 million tax break for archery products, a $35 million benefit for fishing tackle boxes, $169 million boon for Puerto Rico Rum producers and a $4 million break for sonar fishng devices.  None of these are subject to the same rules we will now apply to appropriations bill only.  And yet we have yet to see any rules that will apply to the worst offender - the Senate.

I will continue to fight against wasteful spending, for transparency and for real across-the-board reforms.  My vote yesterday was a signal to everyone that we are not finished yet.  For my conservative colleagues who fought hard for yesterday’s vote, I congratulate them on an important victory, but I join them in reminding everyone that we are not finished yet.  There is more reform needed to fully restore public confidence and fulfill the promise of the conservative revolution, I intend to stay in that fight.