Porkbusters - Put Government on a Diet

Though the list of things that perturb me about our government and the way it functions is quite lengthy, right at the top of that list is the ridiculous amount of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer money. This waste comes in many forms from farm subsidies to the countless entitlement programs to the endless line of pork projects.

It is the latter that the Blogosphere has decided to take on. At the head of the pack is NZ Bear's Porkbusters project. The fight has not been an easy one, but progress is being made. According to the Porkbusters site, the Pork Barrel Reduction Act is being introduced in the Senate by a handful of Senators. I haven't actually read the text of the bill yet, but it is said to do the following:

- Creates a new point of order against unauthorized earmarks and policy riders. This point of order allows for the elimination of extraneous individual earmarks and policy riders. Under this provision, only the offending provision would be removed from the appropriations bill or conference report if a point of order was sustained, thus maintaining the integrity of the underlying bill.

- Prohibits federal agencies from spending money on items and earmarks that were only included in unamendable committee or conference reports. This provision requires that all earmarks and spending items be in bill text, allowing for amendment and debate.

- Requires conference reports to be filed and publicly available for at least 48 hours prior to floor consideration. This requirement increases transparency and debate and gives lawmakers and the American public time to review legislation before it receives a vote.

- Strengthens current Senate rules against the conference report inclusion of matter not considered by the House or Senate. This provision prohibits consideration of conference reports containing matter not committed by either the House or Senate. Current rules allow for a point of order against reports with new matter, but many new provisions sneak by when they are attached to must-pass bills that can overcome the point of order.

- Requires full disclosure of any and all earmarks included in bills or conference reports. This provision shines some much needed light on the process by requiring a detailed description of all earmarks, including the identity of the lawmaker seeking the earmark and the earmark's essential governmental purpose.

- Requires recipients of federal dollars to disclose the amount of money that they spend on registered lobbyists. By increasing transparency and disclosure, this provision reduces the likelihood that taxpayers will unknowingly fund lobbyists who are promoting wasteful earmarks and working against the interests of hard-working taxpayers.

I am unsure of the chances of passage, but the fact it is even being introduced is a start. Capital Hill has become a nasty den of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" politics where Senators and Representatives support each others disgusting pork projects in order to ensure the passage of their own. They all know it is wrong, but as far as they are concerned, the more pork they bring home, the more votes they get. It doesn't matter what they have to sign off on to get it.

Be sure to make your voice heard in this fight. Contact your Sen. and Rep. and let them know you expect passage of this bill. You can also keep yourself informed by regular visits to the Citizens Against Government Waste website. It is undoubtedly the most useful resource on the Net for finding out just what happens to your tax dollars.

Authored by Liberty Dog