U.S. Rep. David Price says earmarks have gotten a bad rap.
In a speech before the Cary Chamber of Commerce this morning, the Chapel Hill Democrat said the recent debate over Congressional earmarks has blown them out of proportion.
Price said the total amount of money spent on earmarked projects is about 1 percent of the federal budget. The bigger problems with spending are the Iraq war, Medicare and Social Security, he said.
A professor of political science, Price argued that the U.S. Constitution clearly gives Congress "the power of the purse," including the right to direct spending. He cited several local projects, including a town water reclamation facility, that were needed.
The issue with earmarks is not spending, since most of the money would be appropriated anyway, he said. Instead, he said, it has been a lack of transparency and "road to nowhere" projects that were not worthy.
Still, he said, there is "a fair amount of exaggeration" about earmarks.
"This earmark process has become kind of a bugaboo and it's going to figure in some of the campaigns," he said. "Everybody should take a deep breath."
Blog RSS feed
Re: Price defends earmarks in Cary
Agreed with your comment mwilbert and would go further that Price's comment demonstrates his fiscal laziness. In corporate America, during lean times or during times when better financial performance is requested from shareholders, the mandate from management soon becomes "buckle up" and "everything is under review". In terms of earmarks, Price should focus NOT on this being 1 percent of the budget (with 1 percent of budget still being a HUGE dollar amount) but on the message that taxpayers are saying (we should be viewed as shareholders and "owners") that we want better financial performance and more effective government. Bottom line, how about shaving 5% from every government program and demand less waste and more productivity. If average Americans are being asked to produce this kind of value, then we should expect nothing less from our government. Mr. Price, how about some leadership and more bigger picture thinking?