Everyone's complaining that things in Washington need changing. But some changes are most definitely NOT for the good of the republic. For instance, look at the alarming growth of appropriations earmarks. In the decade from 1995 to 2005, the number of earmark spending projects soared from 1,439 to 13,997. Goodness gracious!No wonder people have not only lost faith in their political representatives; they're beginning to loathe and fear them. (See the post below about Colorado's Democrats illegally stealing taxpayer's money.)
So, how can we secure beneficial change? One great way is to persuade more of our politicians (as well as those running for office) to sign the Earmark Reform Pledge created by the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste. There are 10 provisions to the pledge, all simple, just and eminently responsible.
Here is the Senate version:
I, __ , pledge to the constituents of the State of __ and to the American people that I will support commonsense reforms of how Congress spends taxpayer dollars. To that end, I will:
FIRST, fully disclose all earmarked funding or targeted tax benefit requests (or substitute letters to agencies) on my Congressional website.
SECOND, not request any earmarked funding that would come from a federal program that is not currently authorized by Congress.
THIRD, not request any earmarked funding or targeted tax benefit provision that does not serve a federal interest and/or have a federal nexus.
FOURTH, not request any earmarked funding or targeted tax benefit provision for an entity located outside of the state I represent.
FIFTH, not request any earmarked funding or targeted tax benefit provision that would be directed toward a specific private entity that was not requested by an agency.
SIXTH, not request any earmarked funding be added or increased in a conference committee to an amount greater than the amount passed in either the House or the Senate version of the bill.
SEVENTH, not request any earmarked funding or targeted tax benefit provision without also requesting that the provision be included within the text of the bill.
EIGHTH, support legislation that would end the linkage between campaign contributions and earmarks.
NINTH, support legislation that requires any earmarked funding or targeted tax benefit provision be put in the text of the bill, be available for discussion at an open Congressional hearing, and be disclosed with the requesting Senator(s), amounts, recipients, and purpose at least one week before the bill is brought to the floor.
TENTH, support any amendment in Committee, or on the Floor of the Senate, that eliminates an earmarked funding or targeted tax benefit provision that does not comply with this pledge.
Now, I won't kid you that this pledge marks a dramatic turnaround from the direction in which modern politics is headed and so our work is really cut out for us. In fact, there's only a handful of political representatives smart enough to realize our nation's financial crisis and honorable enough to sign on to this modest CCAGW pledge. They are all Republicans: Senator Jim DeMint (South Carolina), Senator Tom Coburn (Oklahoma), Congressman Paul Broun (Georgia), Congressman John Campbell (California), Congressman Tom Feeney (Florida), Congressman Jeff Flake (Arizona.), Congressman Jeb Hensarling (Texas), Congressman Tom Price (Georgia), Congressman Paul Ryan (Wisconsin), and Congressman John Shadegg (Arizona).
We need many, many more of this quality of public servant in Washington. So, let's start sending the pledge out to our Senators, our Congresspersons, and to those aspiring to serve in those capacities. Let them know this pledge is a big deal to you and the ideals it represents are certainly what you are looking for in the politicians you will earnestly support.
