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Earmarks addiction

By Jim DeMint
January 4, 2008

Americans are frustrated with Congress. Congressional approval is at historic lows. Voters threw out the Republicans in 2006 hoping for a change, but the Democrats have proved completely dysfunctional.

Why can't we just get along and work together for the good of the nation? There is a clear, if not obvious reason.

Teams and organizations work well together when they have a shared purpose and consensus goals. Congress has neither. When members of Congress are sworn in to office, we take an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

This Constitution prescribes a limited role for the federal government whose purpose is “to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty ... “ This purpose statement should give Congress a clear focus on national priorities and the good of the nation as a whole.

Unfortunately, many members of Congress have forgotten that oath and lost sight of our constitutional purpose. Instead of conducting our business in Congress with an eye toward what is best for the whole country, we fight about what is best for our next election and who can get the most taxpayer dollars for his state or congressional district. This is not how our Founders intended Congress to function.

A primary culprit is the addictive power of the congressional earmarking process — whereby members of Congress secure taxpayer dollars for pork barrel projects in their districts or states.

My objection to earmarks has never been to specific lawmakers. The requirement that earmarks now have names on them makes them personal, but it's really the earmarking system that is the problem.

When members of Congress invest their time in securing federal funds for sewer plants and bike paths in their districts, they are doing more than assuming a federal role for a local responsibility: They are locking themselves into voting for whatever bill happens to contain their projects.

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