Republicans need at least 17 Democrats to move forward with a discharge petition to force a vote on a GOP resolution set to impose stronger earmark rules. The plan would expand earmark transparency requirements to tax and authorization bills. Only earmarks in appropriations bills are subject to new transparency requirements.Representative Kevin Brady (Rep, TX) said of the reform attempt:
"I'm convinced that as conservatives, one of the reasons Republicans got fired from governing up here is that we didn't balance the budget, we didn't govern with integrity, we didn't secure the borders, and we didn't control things like earmark abuse," he explains. "And voters sent us packing because we forgot where we came from."He's exactly right. I believe this is one of the key issues that is waiting for a Republican presidential candidate to reach out and grab, one that would bring a great deal of support from the Republican base (and possibly from Democrats and Independents, too). Brady goes on:
"Last year conservatives had pushed through some reforms that allowed us to see every earmark before we voted on a bill. We were able to pull it out and hold a vote on it. This year, they have closed down those options and we finally fought to get it back open."The Democrat party is certainly not the only party abusing earmarks. But, the Democrats also don't seem to have any inclination whatsoever to change anything; at least some of the Republicans are trying to bring about real change. This is one of the things that resonated loudly with Americans in 1994, when Republicans ran on it as a major issue. It worked then, and it would work again now. Who will take the issue and run with it?
There's my two cents.
No comments:
Post a Comment