newsobserver.com projects - An earmark by any other name - Comments

Re: An earmark by any other name

patanthony — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:11:06 -0400

I read Bob Etheridge's "appropriations requests" on his web site, and I don't care what you call them, I hope he brings every dollar of it to NC.

Re: An earmark by any other name

Gosh — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:51:59 -0400

What does a member of Congress call an earmark?

It's their job. That's all they should call it. Congress helps. It spends. That's it's job. Writing checks. That's all they get to do. It's not a savings account. It's not George Washington's 401)K waiting for the Zombie attack.

Anyone that claims otherwise doesn't belong there. It's like hiring a babysitter to ignore your kids, and paying them double if they die.

Vote Republican! Free torture under 12! After 12, it takes an "earmark!"

An earmark by any other name

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:28:26 -0400

What does a member of Congress call an earmark?

Anything but an earmark, it seems.

U.S. representatives were required to post their earmark requests on their official Web sites by this weekend, but no standards were set for how they should be listed.

Of the 10 North Carolina Congressmen who requested earmarks, only one called them that on his site: Rep. G.K. Butterfield. He listed them under "Issue: Earmarks" on his home page.

A popular alternative was "Appropriations Requests." That wording was used by Reps. Larry Kissell, Mike McIntyre, Walter Jones, Bob Etheridge and Heath Shuler.

Rep. Howard Coble went simply for "Appropriations" as a header, while Rep. Mel Watt went for the more baroque "Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Bill Funding Requests."

Rep. Brad Miller preferred "Funding Requests."

The most confusing was Rep. David Price. He listed his earmarks for the last three years under "Local Projects," which then linked to "Fiscal Year 2010 Requests."