Congressman John Campbell's Blog - Green Eyeshade Blog

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Amidst the Lulls of the Congressional Recess

Posted by: John Campbell at 12:49 PM

Amidst the lulls of the August recess, The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper, featured a story on spending increases on the costs of earmarks, and I would be remiss if I didn’t at least bring it to your attention.

Democrats on Capitol Hill and in the White House are quick to point out that much work has been done on reducing pork barrel spending in the Capitol.

But according to a report published jointly by Taxpayers for Common Sense and the Center for Responsive politics, after tallying the earmarks in this year’s appropriations bill, it turns out that the cost of earmarks has actually increased! According to the report, $19.9 billion was doled out for earmarks in 2009 compared to $18.3 billion in 2008.

This report simply annunciates that our earmark affliction still dogs us, and its symptoms are immune to any one particular party.

To view it in full click here.

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vladimir estragon writes:	Tuesday, August, 18, 2009 1:17 PM
Misinformation
Once again, Congressman Campbell provides misleading information: "the cost of earmarks has actually increased!" Earmarks are indications of how money that has already been budgeted should be spent. Earmarks don't add a penny to the federal budget. So saying "the cost of earmarks has increased" is either completely meaningless or blatantly misleading.
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Starman writes:	Tuesday, August, 18, 2009 1:54 PM
vlad doesn't understand math.
Hey vlad, last time I looked 19.9 billion is more than 18.3 billion. If they didn't earmark it, it would not be spent. That would be a savings of 1.6 billion over last year. Of course if they cut out all of the earmark waste that would be a savings of 19.9 billion. this is more than the 100 million that odumbo wants to save with cuts he mandated to his cabinet.
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Retired Lady writes:	Tuesday, August, 18, 2009 2:07 PM
Wasn't Obumbles going to crack
down on this? Yes, indeed, such skilled leadership!
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vladimir estragon writes:	Tuesday, August, 18, 2009 3:19 PM
Starman
"vlad doesn't understand math." And you don't understand what an earmark is. "Hey vlad, last time I looked 19.9 billion is more than 18.3 billion. If they didn't earmark it, it would not be spent." Yes it would.
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About John Campbell

John Campbell is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, and has taken a leadership role in addressing the country's top economic issues. Campbell serves as a member of the Joint Economic Committee, and House Committee on the Budget. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from UCLA and a Master's Degree in Taxation from USC.