Sources: GOP push to lift earmark ban expected to fail
Source: Politico
A long-shot bid to restore congressional earmarks is expected to die during a House GOP meeting Wednesday afternoon, multiple sources told POLITICO, the second time in two years Republicans have rejected a move to resurrect the practice.
Still, a core group of senior House Republicans is vowing to continue their push — hoping to convince their colleagues that reinstating the practice of designating money for pet projects in specific congressional districts is an important constitutional authority.
Reps. John Culberson (R-Texas), Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) will offer an amendment in a closed-door GOP conference to poke some major holes in the ban on lawmakers earmarking money.
The group has been working their colleagues on the House floor, arguing that their pitch “restores the most powerful check and balance created by the Founders … the power of the purse.” They say banning earmarks only empowers executive bureaucrats to make decisions about where to allocate money — noting that a reinstatement could also help grease the wheels of a long-stalled appropriations process.
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Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/gop-lift-earmark-ban-231500
In my opinion, earmarks should return in some form.
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