Conservatives win on wasteful pork
September 14, 2006 | By Nathaniel Ward
Conservatives won an important victory against wasteful government spending yesterday when The House of Representatives voted to bring more transparency to federal earmarks and contracts. The Senate has already ratified the updated version of the bill, which now proceeds to the President’s desk for his signature.
Though support for the reforms, originally sponsored by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Barack Obama (D-IL), runs across party lines, some liberals are still making the case for this waste. Writing in The New Republic, Brad Plumer explains that “there’s a liberal case for supporting pork.” He argues that “without pork, activist government would wither and die.” He even cites Heritage budget expert Brian Riedl, who argues that “pork also leads to bigger government.” This, of course, is among the chief reasons why conservatives should be against pork-barrel spending.
Conservatives in Congress rallied yesterday for further earmark reforms, Heritage’s Tim Chapman reports. They favor a new rule, to be voted on today, that could help stem the tide of wasteful pork-barrel spending in Washington by identifying the sponsor of each earmark by name.
Presidential adviser Karl Rove and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao greet former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, seated.
Heritage President Ed Feulner, at left, shares a laugh with Vice President Dick Cheney.
Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) speaking Wednesday at The Heritage Foundation Founders' Meeting.
Polish Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński speaks at Heritage on Thursday.
A week to remember at Heritage
It’s been an exciting couple of days here at The Heritage Foundation. In the past 48 hours, Heritage has hosted a number of influential conservatives as part of the annual Founders’ Meeting.
- Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher—named as the Patron of The Heritage Foundation this week by Heritage’s Board of Trustees—joined us for several days this week to celebrate the first anniversary of Heritage’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. In brief remarks at a luncheon with Heritage Founders, Lady Thatcher lauded Heritage’s commitment to fundamental principles and ideals.
- Vice President and Mrs. Cheney dined with a small group of Heritage members and Lady Thatcher yesterday evening on Heritage’s Phelon Terrance. Speaking before the meal, the Vice President praised Lady Thatcher for her contributions to the conservative movement.
- At a Tuesday evening reception, presidential adviser Karl Rove, cabinet secretaries including Mike Leavitt, Elaine Chao, Michael Chertoff and Dirk Kempthorne, and a number of Senators and Congressmen joined Heritage Trustees to honor Lady Thatcher.
- Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) and presidential homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend spoke to Heritage members yesterday afternoon about state and federal efforts to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.
- In a panel discussion yesterday, former presidential envoy to Iraq L. Paul Bremer and Blackwater USA Vice Chairman and former State Department counterterrorism coordinator Cofer Black discussed the future of Iraq and the ongoing terrorist threat.
- Speaking this morning in Heritage’s Allison Auditorium, Polish Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński discussed Eastern Europe’s transition from communism to freedom and democracy.
The events of these past few days highlight the importance of conservative ideas here in Washington—and the importance of recommitting all Americans to the principles that have made America great.
Doing border security right
To secure its borders, America needs to ensure the cooperation of government at all levels. But as Heritage’s James Carafano explains, state and local authorities too often decline to help federal officers enforce immigration laws. “At the very least,” Carafano writes, “in the normal course of criminal investigations, state and local law enforcement should neither ignore immigration law nor hesitate to cooperate with federal immigration officials.”
Carafano proposes that Congress create a program to encourage cooperation between state, local and federal authorities to combat illegal immigration. This can be accomplished by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to implement existing programs nationwide and permitting states to use existing homeland security grants to fund their work alongside the federal authorities. Putting such a program in place would require Congress to strengthen and expand existing measures in the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Congress should be careful that it does not impose any new mandates on state or local authorities, Carafano warns. An unfunded mandate could strain local authorities, and it would be a poor idea to redirect local law enforcement away from maintaining the rule of law in their own communities. Carafano adds that a broad federal mandate could undermine the work of the FBI’s National Criminal Information Center and “expose state and local law enforcement to significant liability.”
Even more wasteful federal subsidies?
As it races to finish up its fall session before members return home to campaign, Congress is considering quite a bit of bad legislation. For example, lawmakers are considering massive bailouts for both Amtrak and Metro, the transit system that serves the nation’s capital. Both agencies are in dire need of basic management reforms, and throwing money at the problem will only prevent change and reinforce current bad practices.
“These bailouts would be fiscally irresponsible and counterproductive to reform of the entities they ostensibly benefit,” Heritage’s Ron Utt writes. “President Bush and fiscal conservatives should make their opposition to such wasteful spending clear.”
Weighing in at $1.5 billion, Utt explains, the Metro bailout would be “one of the largest earmarks ever passed—seven times more expensive than Alaska’s infamous Bridge to Nowhere earmark and twice as expensive as Mississippi’s Train to Nowhere.”
The Amtrak bill would be still worse, throwing $1.8 billion at the decrepit train operator next year alone. Utt notes that by revising several measures designed to promote change at the organization, the law “would hinder reform and interrupt the modest operational reforms being implemented by Amtrak’s new management.”
In other news
- The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday approved legislation to update the outdated 1978 Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act to include the Terrorist Surveillance Program. Liberals sought to block the measure, which formally authorizes the valuable TSP intelligence operation, and may attempt a filibuster.
- One of the judges presiding over Saddam Hussein’s war-crimes trial told the deposed despot that he was not a dictator while he held power. The judge has previously been accused of bias towards the defense.
- A new study suggests that high costs deter most Americans from purchasing individual health insurance plans. It’s high time the federal government stopped giving special privileges to health insurance provided through employers and allowed a real consumer-driven insurance marketplace to develop.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.
- On Friday, September 15 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, Heritage hosts a discussion with experts from government and the private sector about ways to improve airline security in the face of evolving threats.
On Thursday, September 21 at noon, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) will discuss the need to restore public confidence in our immigration laws by controlling the border and enforcing the law internally.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
