Now 'ear This: Roundup of Earmark Action This Week
by Adam Hughes*, 3/30/2007
Action and commentary aplenty on the earmarks front, from CRS to OMB to Capitol Hill this week:
- CRS' Earmark Policy: the Library of Congress's Congressional Research Service (CRS) "sudden" announcement that "it will no longer [perform research for] members of Congress on the size, number or background of earmarks" brought this WSJ denunciation on Monday, followed by this CQ-released ($) response by CRS the same day;
- OMB Database: the failure of OMB to meet its own commitment to producing a comprehensive earmarks database, publishing this website instead, prompting this scathing commentary Tuesday by Heritage Foundation founding president Paul Weyrich;
- Legislative Earmark Lop-Off: the Senate took action yesterday, adopting an amendment that removed a $2 million earmark for an institute at the University of Vermont named after former Senator James Jeffords. Said amendment sponsor Sen. Coburn (R-OK), "it is imperious to suggest that the only individual Americans with failing health that deserve special treatment in an emergency supplemental bill are former senators."
