'Pork' still reigns on Capitol Hill

Lawmakers have dropped in at least 12,000 earmarks worth $24.7 billion.

from the November 16, 2007 edition

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A smattering of self-discipline

"The good news is that we're beginning to see the most egregious projects rescinded by members before they go to conference [committee with the other chamber]," says Keith Ashdown, principal investigator of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based watchdog group.

Exhibit A is the $1 million earmark sponsored by New York's Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) and Charles Schumer (D) to fund the Museum at Bethel Woods. Critics quickly dubbed it the "hippie museum" because it focused on the August 1969 Woodstock festival.

With Senator Clinton's high profile in the 2008 presidential race, the earmark made headlines and came up in the candidate debates. But what troubles watchdog groups is the appearance of a quid pro quo between the earmark and some $29,200 in campaign contributions to the earmark's sponsors.

In a rare 52-to-42 vote, the Senate agreed on Oct. 18 to drop the earmark.

"Because it was a Clinton earmark, it drew a lot of attention from Republicans, and we got a lot of Republican support we don't often get on our amendments," says John Hart, spokesman for Sen. Tom Coburn (R) of Oklahoma, who sponsored the amendment challenging this earmark. "There was an element of drama in this earmark that you don't get in your typical parking garage [project]."

But Senator Coburn has lost all other challenges to pork-barrel spending this year, including one to drop all earmarks on the transportation bill until each structurally deficient bridge in America is fixed. The vote failed 80 to 12.

Repercussions of speaking out

One reason is that members are afraid to run afoul of the powerful Appropriations Committees in both the House and Senate. Those few members who have sponsored amendments to strip earmarks say they get a lot of heat from their colleagues.

"It's been a real mixed bag," says first-term Sen. Jim DeMint (R) of South Carolina.

"I've never had so much attention and adoration outside of Washington – I get standing ovations when I talk about earmarks. But I have a lot of good old friends who are mad at me in the Senate," he says of his fellow GOP senators.

"But what can they do to me?" he adds. "We're now in the minority, so we don't have a lot to lose. New members see that earmarks are bankrupting our country and our party and [have] corrupted our members.

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