An “earmark” is a short provision in a spending bill that directs funds to a specific project in a specific location. Congressman and Senators use “earmarks” to siphon money out of supplemental spending bills for their pet projects at home.  They are particularly ripe for abuse because there is no oversight, debate or follow up on how the money is used, and they are often hidden inside important spending bills that receive popular support.  In short, “earmarks” cost the American Taxpayer billions of dollars every year.

Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma has consistently fought to stop his fellow Congressman and Senators from abusing earmarks.  Unfortunately, he has little support among his colleagues and is fighting an up hill battle.  He did make a firm stand the other day, however, that cast a glaring spotlight on the “earmark” abuse that permeates the political system.  The Senate was considering a major health care spending bill aimed at assisting the 9.5 million children in this country without health care coverage.  Senator Coburn proposed an amendment that would ban all funding for pet projects until “all children under the age of 18 years are insured by a private or public health insurance plan.”  Keep in mind that this was the main goal of the spending bill.

In essence, he just proposed that they fund the spending bill’s original intent before the “earmarks” that were stuffed into the bill by greedy Senators eager to garner favor with funds for their projects at home.

"It seems to me the American public might want to ask why are you earmarking special money for special projects when you have a chance to make sure it will go towards children and really solving the problem?" Coburn declared.  "So this is going to be a tough vote.  Kids versus my political career.  Kids versus my political power.  Kids versus my political earmarks.  We're going to see.  We're going to get to see what the real priorities of the Senate are."  Oh, we saw. The amendment was defeated: 68-26.   68 Senators voted in favor of $400 million for “earmarks”.

Here are just a few of the “earmarks” that will receive funding in that bill:

• $130,000 for the National First Ladies' Library in Ohio.

• $500,000 for a "Virtual Herbarium" in New York.

• $400,000 for the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa.

• $100,000 to celebrate Lake Champlain's quadricentennial.

• $500,000 for "field experiences" on the Chesapeake Bay.

• $50,000 for an ice center in Utah.

Give Senator Coburn credit for standing up to his fellow Senators and exposing their abuse of the system.  A short time ago, he proposed a similar amendment to a transportation spending bill blocking all “earmark” funding until all of the “structurally deficient” bridges were repaired.  Again, fixing the bridges was among the main goals of the spending bill. This amendment only received 14 votes.  I applaud Senator Coburn for fighting for the American Taxpayer.  It is good to know that there are some Senators on our side.  Hopefully, he continues to expose his colleagues who put their re-election first.

That leads me to the second enemy of the American Taxpayer: “career politicians.”  Our founding fathers never intended for there to be such a thing.  They envisioned productive citizens that would take time out of their careers to dutifully serve their country and then return to their farms or businesses.  Unfortunately, we now have too many politicians who make a career out of getting re-elected.  They are seduced by the celebrity, the power, the perks and the pension.  They become motivated to spend hard earned tax payer money on pet projects to garner support and buy votes.  They seek favor with special interest groups to raise more money and spend a great deal of their time “fund raising” for the next election.  Once they receive the money from this group or that, they are now compromised and obligated to give their supporters a return on their investment.  It is a vicious cycle that corrupts our politicians and encourages “earmark” abuse.

Once again Senator Tom Coburn is leading the fight against “career politicians.”  Only this time, he is doing so by example. Tom Coburn is a Family Practice Physician that has personally delivered over 4000 babies.  He is also a two-time cancer survivor and refers to himself as a “citizen legislator”.  He served three terms in the House of Representatives from 1994-2001, and then retired from the House in 2001, fulfilling his pledge to only serve three terms.  Now a Senator, Coburn has pledged to serve only two terms in the Senate before returning to his medical practice.  

Maybe all politicians aren’t bad, some are effective leaders that understand their role and use their positions to effect change.  I’ll leave you with positive note, Senator Tom Coburn did succeed in defeating a $1,000,000 earmark for a commemorative museum in New York dedicated to the 1969 Woodstock Concert.  Fear not hippie rockers, museum officials say they plan on opening next year with or without the funds.  Rock On, Senator Coburn!



...more columns by Todd A. Carges