Democratic leaders make no earmark promises

Congressional Democratic leaders, bristling from President Bush’s criticism of earmarks in his State of the Union address, made no promises Tuesday to slash pet projects in half in this year’s spending bills.

At a Tuesday morning breakfast briefing with reporters, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) complained that Bush had failed to acknowledge the enactment of last year’s ethics law that made earmark requests more transparent. Also, they insisted that they were making significant progress in reducing the number of earmarks.

{mosads}“Where was this fervor and determination when Republicans were in charge of the appropriations process?” Durbin said.

Durbin acknowledged that it is “almost inevitable” that embarrassing earmarks will emerge occasionally, but he said that steps are already being taken to shine more light on pet projects.

“I think his feelings about more transparency and dDisclosure … move in the same direction we’ve already started,”
Durbin, an Appropriations Committee member, said at the briefing sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

The immediate reaction from Democratic leaders — as well as a number of Republicans — signaled that another protracted battle may loom over domestic spending between Congress and the White House in the final days of Bush’s term.

At Monday night’s State of the Union address, Bush said he would direct federal agencies to ignore spending money on earmarks that are not explicitly written into legislative text and promised a veto of any bill that does not slash the pet projects in half from the previous year’s levels. The call won support from fiscal hawks sharply critical of lawmakers’ pet projects, who pointed to a number of high-profile federal corruption cases revolving around earmarks.

Durbin – who separately acknowledged that the presidential election “overshadows everything that we do” – also
said lawmakers are eager to flaunt pet projects. The projects take on extra importance during an election year for some lawmakers eager to show their effectiveness in Congress.

“I can’t wait to tell [the press] about my earmarks, because I really think they’re important to my state and are things
that I’m proud of,” Durbin said.{mospagebreak}

Hoyer cited figures by the group Citizens Against Government Waste that said the fiscal 2006 spending measures included $29 billion in earmarks, and fiscal 2008 spending included $14.9 billion. For fiscal 2007, a yearlong continuing resolution was enacted with no funding for pet projects.

“We did cut them in half,” Hoyer insisted.

{mosads}When asked whether they would meet Bush’s call to slice future earmarks in half, Hoyer said: “We’re going to address that issue and we are talking about what our next steps are.” Durbin declined to say how the Senate would respond.

Bush plans to issue his fiscal 2009 budget proposal next week, and Democrats are eager to point out presidential earmarks. The White House says those earmarks – unlike congressional projects – go through an extensive vetting process to determine whether they are needed. Bush aides also say the president has long called for earmarks to be controlled, and has pushed for new authority like the line-item veto to strip pet projects from spending bills.

“The people’s trust in their government is undermined by congressional earmarks,” Bush said Monday night.

“If you send me an appropriations bill that does not cut the number and cost of earmarks in half, I will send it back to you
with my veto,” Bush said, leading to a round of applause and a standing ovation.

The issue has split Republicans, with conservatives seeking to reclaim the mantle of fiscal responsibility but congressional veterans arguing that Congress has the right to spend money as it sees fit as long as overall levels are controlled.

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), a senior appropriator known for his earmarks, did not join the standing ovation following Bush’s remarks on the issue Monday night. But he said before the speech that he had no problems with Bush’s threat to veto bills that don’t halve earmarks.

He signaled that his earmarks should get favorable treatment, however, by adding: “Mine come first.”

On the floor Tuesday, Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) said it is “our constitutional
responsibility to – to deal with – with earmarks, but we should do that ourselves, and we should begin that this year.”

Senate conservatives plan to increase pressure on their leadership to take a harder line.

“GOP leaders need to decide if they want to shut down the ‘earmark favor factory’ or be assistant managers to [Democratic leaders],” said a Senate GOP aide.