Ban on for-profit earmarks reflects widely-praised bill introduced by Giffords last year
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ proposal to overhaul the way members of Congress request funding for district projects paved the way for today’s announcement of a ban on earmarks to for-profit entities.
“The ban is a step in the right direction,” said Giffords. “It builds on the earmark reform legislation I introduced 11 months ago and will help us strengthen oversight of how taxpayer dollars are spent. Most importantly, it will help clean up a system that was prone to abuse and allowed lobbyists to call the shots.”
The ban, announced today by the House Appropriations Committee, reflects the Clean Law for Earmark Accountability Reform, or CLEAR Act, which was introduced in April by Giffords and Rep. Paul Hodes of New Hampshire.
The goal of the CLEAR Act was to ban lawmakers from taking campaign contributions from companies, their senior executives and lobbyists on whose behalf they have requested earmarks. The bill won immediate praise from lawmakers and newspaper editorial pages.
Rep. Jeff Flake of Mesa, a Republican who has long championed earmark reform, called the CLEAR Act “a promising development.”
“Giffords’ bill should become law,” wrote the Arizona Daily Star in an April 24, 2009 editorial. Southern Arizona’s largest newspaper called it “a good first step” in the effort “to resolve a problem that continued to dog our political process.”
The Tucson Citizen echoed that sentiment. In an editorial that also appeared on April 24, 2009, the paper wrote that that bill would amount to “a giant leap” for earmark reform in Congress.
And in an April 27, 2009 editorial, The New York Times called the Giffords-Hodes bill a “needed addition” to the effort to boost ethical standards in Congress.
Newspapers in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Virginia and Texas also voiced support for the CLEAR Act.
Although the CLEAR Act has not become law, Giffords abides by its provisions. The congresswoman also was among the first members of Congress to put her earmark requests online, even before it was required.
Today’s decision by the Appropriations Committee to ban earmark requests that would be directed to for-profit entities was announced by Chairman Dave Obey and Rep. Norm Dicks, the incoming chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
According to the committee, if the rule had been in effect last year it would have resulted in 1,000 fewer earmarks.
To guarantee compliance the committee will also require federal agency inspectors general to audit at least 5 percent of all earmarks directed to non-profit entities. This new oversight measure is to ensure that earmarks go to their intended purposes and to prevent for-profits from masquerading as non-profits.
The committee also will establish an online “one-stop” link to all House Members’ appropriations earmark requests to enable the public to easily view them.
“The earmark process should be public and completely transparent,” Giffords said. “These new measures will help us reach those goals by building on the earmark reforms implemented by the House over the past three years.”
In 2007, Giffords and a majority of her colleagues required that detailed lists of every earmark and its sponsor be made public and a public certification from every member that they have no financial interest in any earmark request.
In 2008, the total dollar amount allocated for earmarks was reduced by 43 percent below 2006.
And last year, lawmakers were required to post online their earmark requests and justifications for making them. The total amount earmarked was reduced even further, achieving a 50 percent reduction below the 2006 level.