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Congress bribing elites with earmarks { June 29 2007 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/flake-challenges-murtha-on-earmarks-2007-06-29.htmlhttp://thehill.com/leading-the-news/flake-challenges-murtha-on-earmarks-2007-06-29.html
Flake challenges Murtha on earmarks
By Kevin Bogardus
June 29, 2007
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) is targeting Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) as part of his crusade against earmarks.
Flake offered 12 amendments to House appropriations bills to cut 12 earmarks, a quarter of which were Murtha’s requests. No other lawmaker or state was hit as hard — the Arizona Republican included two other earmarks destined for Pennsylvania.
“It is tough to avoid them. It really is,” Flake said of the proposed cuts to what he called Murtha’s “earmark incubators.”
Murtha’s office declined to comment. His three earmark requests noted in Flake’s amendments totaled about $1.5 million and were directed to projects in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Overall, Flake asked to cut more than $3.4 million in earmarks in the 12 amendments, averaging more than $290,000 per granted request. Altogether, 14 members’ requests were caught in the crosshairs.
Both parties are scrambling for the moral high ground on earmarks. Democrats have said they halved spending for the two appropriations bills — Interior, Environment and Related Agencies and Financial Services and General Government — compared to last year’s legislation.
An amendment by Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) to cut several earmarks from the Financial Services bill drew the ire of Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
“It is time to put up or shut up,” Obey said. “We cannot go in both directions at the same time. It is time to find out which direction the House wants to go.”
Campbell’s amendment later failed to pass.
Wednesday, Flake offered five amendments to the Interior bill, all of which failed on the House floor.
A supporter last year, Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.) was the lone Democrat to vote for Flake’s planned cuts to the bill on
Wednesday. A number of Republicans supported Flake as well.
Yesterday, the budget hawk offered seven amendments to the Financial Services appropriations bill. Six were voted down, but a project sponsored by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) had funds cut.
Flake encountered opposition on the floor, including from within his party.
The House Appropriations Committee’s ranking member, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), defended funding to help redevelop a park near, and the plaza of, the Eastern Market Metro stop in Southeast Washington.
In support of the $500,000 earmark, the California Republican asked Flake if he ever had witnessed one of the Marines’ “silent marches” at the 8th Street barracks on a summer Friday. Flake responded in the negative and defended his planned cut.
“To hear this discussion, you would think we’re funding the Marines,” Flake said. “We’re not. We’re subsidizing a commercial venture.”
Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Financial Services subcommittee, rose in support of many of his bill’s earmarks, whether they were sponsored by a Republican or Democrat.
Flake also challenged one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D) earmarks. Pelosi helped secure $231,000 for the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, a public policy think tank.
Flake has highlighted members’ spending requests from both parties, though he has called out eight Democratic requests compared to five from Republicans.
A budget watchdog group, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), has been following Flake’s efforts and has linked personal connections between members and their earmarks.
For example, AFP highlighted on its website that Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), along with Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.), requested $100,000 in the Interior appropriations bill to help renovate and preserve the Philadelphia Art Museum’s main façade. Flake’s amendment to cut the funding failed.
Fattah’s wife sits on the museum’s board of trustees and many board members have contributed to the congressman’s campaigns, according to AFP.
“You only have a responsibility to give, not receive. No one on the board gets compensated,” Fattah said of his wife’s position. He signed a certification letter for the earmark, stating that neither he nor his spouse has any financial interest in the appropriation.
Asked about the budget watchdog’s posting regarding the campaign contributions, Fattah said, “They are really looking hard. A small number of people on the board have contributed to my political efforts, but thousands have contributed to my political efforts.”
Along with Brady, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Philadelphia Mayor John Street (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) all support the earmark, according to Fattah.
Flake told The Hill that Republican leadership is not discouraging his efforts to cut spending. The Arizona representative will offer more amendments targeting earmarks after the July 4th recess.
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