Tea Party Caucus Took $1 BILLION In Earmarks

T

tmarket

Members of the Congressional Tea Party Caucus may tout their commitment to cutting government spending now, but they used the 111th Congress to request hundreds of earmarks that, taken cumulatively, added more than $1 billion to the federal budget.

A list of Tea Party Caucus members and their earmark requests in Fiscal Year 2010, courtesy of Citizens Against Government Waste's
http://www.cagw.org/reports/pig-book/2010/
Code: 
NAME                EARMARKS        AMOUNT

Aderholt (R-AL)        69        $78,263,000
Akin (R-MO)             9        $14,709,000
Alexander (R-LA)       41        $65,395,000
Bachmann (R-MN)         0                  0
Barton (R-TX)          14        $12,269,400
Bartlett (R-MD)        19        $43,060,650
Bilirakis (R-FL)       14        $13,600,000
R. Bishop (R-UT)       47        $93,980,000
Burgess (R-TX)         15        $15,804,400
Broun (R-GA)            0                  0
Burton (R-IN)           0                  0
Carter (R-TX)          26        $42,232,000
Coble (R-NC)           19        $18,755,000
Coffman (R-CO)          0                  0
Crenshaw (R-FL)        37        $54,424,000
Culberson (R-TX)       22        $33,792,000
Fleming (R-LA)         10        $31,489,000
Franks (R-AZ)           8        $14,300,000
Gingrey (R-GA)         19        $16,100,000
Gohmert (R-TX)         15         $7,099,000
S. Graves (R-MO)       11         $8,331,000
R. Hall (R-TX)         16        $12,232,000
Harper (R-MS)          25        $80,402,000
Herger (R-CA)           5         $5,946,000
Hoekstra (R-MI)         9         $6,392,000
Jenkins (R-KS)         12        $24,628,000
S. King (R-IA)         13         $6,650,000
Lamborn (R-CO)          6        $16,020,000
Luetkemeyer (R-MO)      0                  0
Lummis (R-WY)           0                  0
Marchant (R-TX)         0                  0
McClintock (R-CA)       0                  0
Gary Miller (R-CA)     15        $19,627,500
Jerry Moran (R-KS)     22        $19,400,000
Myrick (R-NC)           0                  0
Neugebauer (R-TX)       0                  0
Pence (R-IN)            0                  0
Poe (R-TX)             12         $7,913,000
T. Price (R-GA)         0                  0
Rehberg (R-MT)         88       $100,514,200
Roe (R-TN)              0                  0
Royce (R-CA)            7         $6,545,000
Scalise (R-LA)         20        $17,388,000
P. Sessions (R-TX)      0                  0
Shadegg (R-AZ)          0                  0
Adrian Smith (R-NE)     1           $350,000
L. Smith (R-TX)        18        $14,078,000
Stearns (R-FL)         17        $15,472,000
Tiahrt (R-KS)          39        $63,400,000
Wamp (R-TN)            14        $34,544,000
Westmoreland (R-GA)     0                  0
Wilson (R-SC)          15        $23,334,000


TOTAL                 764     $1,049,783,150
 
once again, you (and those who continue to bash against earmarks) have an underlying fundamental misunderstanding of the process.

an earmark is not always a bad thing. get it through your skull. there are many committees that provide funding to states through a transparent earmark process that is designed to take federal dollars and allocate it to specific state/county projects based on what gets approved at that committee meeting.

now, how many of those are on your list? i dont know without researching every one of them (something i'm not about to do). but you would do well to educate yourself before spouting off generically on the word earmark simply because the majority of the public (you included) doesn't get how the process actually works.

earmarks are bad when they are stuffed into bills - often bills that have nothing to do with the topic/project the earmark is designed to address - and done so in a "behind the closed door" approach with the sole intent to secure votes to pass the bill. kinda like the "cornhusker kickback" and "louisiana purchase". those are two very large examples of non-transparent, and quite large pork barrel spending. i am sure you can find examples of this in both parties. but just because the federal government gives a state or district money, does not make it "pork".
 
Quote from Tsing Tao:

once again, you (and those who continue to bash against earmarks) have an underlying fundamental misunderstanding of the process.

an earmark is not always a bad thing. get it through your skull. there are many committees that provide funding to states through a transparent earmark process that is designed to take federal dollars and allocate it to specific state/county projects based on what gets approved at that committee meeting.

now, how many of those are on your list? i dont know without researching every one of them (something i'm not about to do). but you would do well to educate yourself before spouting off generically on the word earmark simply because the majority of the public (you included) doesn't get how the process actually works.

earmarks are bad when they are stuffed into bills - often bills that have nothing to do with the topic/project the earmark is designed to address - and done so in a "behind the closed door" approach with the sole intent to secure votes to pass the bill. kinda like the "cornhusker kickback" and "louisiana purchase". those are two very large examples of non-transparent, and quite large pork barrel spending. i am sure you can find examples of this in both parties. but just because the federal government gives a state or district money, does not make it "pork".
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I agree, the expenditures would have to be evaluated individually. But at the same time certain groups could be a bit more nuanced when they decry government spending.
 
Quote from Ricter:

I agree, the expenditures would have to be evaluated individually. But at the same time certain groups could be a bit more nuanced when they decry government spending.
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i think they decry government spending in general without specifics, which is a problem. but i dont think anyone here can argue that the government is perfectly efficient and could not use a massive overhaul.
 
Interesting site. The have a "Porker of the Month"

This months winnner is..........

Recovery Czar Edward DeSeve is CAGW’s November Porker of the Month


Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Edward DeSeve its November Porker of the Month. His precise title, as one of President Obama’s many “czars,” is Special Advisor to the President, Assistant to the Vice President and Special Advisor to the OMB Director for Implementation of the Recovery Act. In announcing his appointment on March 26, 2009, the White House described his role as supporting Vice President Biden as he leads the implementation of the stimulus bill, and coordinating with the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. DeSeve is also in charge of interagency coordination and ensuring that the stimulus money is spent “quickly and effectively.” In other words, the stimulus bucks start with taxpayers and stop at his desk.

Mr. DeSeve told ABC’s Jake Tapper on October 30 that he had been “scrubbing” the job estimates so much that he now has “dishpan hands” and his “fingers are worn to the nub.” However, the 640,000 jobs alleged to have been created or saved by the administration and listed on recovery.gov, as well as the inclusion of hundreds of non-existent congressional districts, have been ridiculed by talk shows, mainstream newspapers, and bloggers.

A November 19, 2009 article in The New York Times reported that Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board Chairman Earl Devaney “could not vouch for the Obama administration’s recent claims that the money had saved or created 640,000 jobs. He suggested that the administration should have treated the number with more skepticism.” When pressed about the origins of the phantom congressional districts, the Board’s Communications Director Ed Pound sputtered, “Who knows, man? Who really knows?” The Government Accountability Office testified before Congress on November 19 that more than 58,000 jobs had been created or saved by 4,000 stimulus recipients, even though they had not yet received any money. On the other hand, there were 9,200 recipients that reported no job creation, despite receiving a total of $965 million.

The Obama administration told taxpayers that they would be able to track the stimulus money, and Mr. DeSeve is supposed to ensure the accuracy of the information. Clearly, his “dishpan hands” were not clean enough. The Accountability and Transparency Board has an $84 million budget. In May, the administration gave $18 million to Smartronix, a company that has received $260 million in federal contracts since 2000, mostly through the Department of Defense, to beef up recovery.gov. That should be more than enough to provide reliable reports.

The so-called stimulus package has been a bust. Touted by the administration as a sure-fire way to rev up the nation’s stalled economic engine and create 3 to 4 million news jobs, 90 percent of which were supposed to have been private sector, the $200 billion that has been spent so far has mostly been used by states to backfill state Medicaid and education budgets, saving and creating jobs…in the public sector.
For presiding over the wasteful stimulus bill and a failed recovery.gov tracking website, CAGW names White House Special Advisor Edward DeSeve it’s November Porker of the Month.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.
 
Quote from Arnie:

Interesting site. The have a "Porker of the Month"

This months winnner is..........

Recovery Czar Edward DeSeve is CAGW’s November Porker of the Month


Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Edward DeSeve its November Porker of the Month. His precise title, as one of President Obama’s many “czars,” is Special Advisor to the President, Assistant to the Vice President and Special Advisor to the OMB Director for Implementation of the Recovery Act. In announcing his appointment on March 26, 2009, the White House described his role as supporting Vice President Biden as he leads the implementation of the stimulus bill, and coordinating with the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. DeSeve is also in charge of interagency coordination and ensuring that the stimulus money is spent “quickly and effectively.” In other words, the stimulus bucks start with taxpayers and stop at his desk.

Mr. DeSeve told ABC’s Jake Tapper on October 30 that he had been “scrubbing” the job estimates so much that he now has “dishpan hands” and his “fingers are worn to the nub.” However, the 640,000 jobs alleged to have been created or saved by the administration and listed on recovery.gov, as well as the inclusion of hundreds of non-existent congressional districts, have been ridiculed by talk shows, mainstream newspapers, and bloggers.

A November 19, 2009 article in The New York Times reported that Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board Chairman Earl Devaney “could not vouch for the Obama administration’s recent claims that the money had saved or created 640,000 jobs. He suggested that the administration should have treated the number with more skepticism.” When pressed about the origins of the phantom congressional districts, the Board’s Communications Director Ed Pound sputtered, “Who knows, man? Who really knows?” The Government Accountability Office testified before Congress on November 19 that more than 58,000 jobs had been created or saved by 4,000 stimulus recipients, even though they had not yet received any money. On the other hand, there were 9,200 recipients that reported no job creation, despite receiving a total of $965 million.

The Obama administration told taxpayers that they would be able to track the stimulus money, and Mr. DeSeve is supposed to ensure the accuracy of the information. Clearly, his “dishpan hands” were not clean enough. The Accountability and Transparency Board has an $84 million budget. In May, the administration gave $18 million to Smartronix, a company that has received $260 million in federal contracts since 2000, mostly through the Department of Defense, to beef up recovery.gov. That should be more than enough to provide reliable reports.

The so-called stimulus package has been a bust. Touted by the administration as a sure-fire way to rev up the nation’s stalled economic engine and create 3 to 4 million news jobs, 90 percent of which were supposed to have been private sector, the $200 billion that has been spent so far has mostly been used by states to backfill state Medicaid and education budgets, saving and creating jobs…in the public sector.
For presiding over the wasteful stimulus bill and a failed recovery.gov tracking website, CAGW names White House Special Advisor Edward DeSeve it’s November Porker of the Month.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.
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while not an earmark, i think the stimulus package will go down in history as one of the dumbest spend of pork ever
 
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