Margaret Krome writes: Congress shouldn't toss earmarked items blindly



"People love to hate earmarks, assuming that they either line the pockets of special interests or are teapot museums, bridges to nowhere or other totally gratuitous projects. But much of the nation's most important work is earmark-funded, ranging from the most visionary and innovative work in alternative energy and sustainable agriculture to AIDS research and prevention, health care and crime prevention. To cut earmarks wholesale wastes enormous amounts of taxpayers dollars by forcing sudden layoffs or closing facilities that must reopen at greater cost later. Rather than sever all work without regard to merit, appropriators should establish sound criteria for funding them or else defer this surgery until they can better distinguish fat from bone and essential organs. " Journalist Margaret Krome served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon.

Margaret Krome writes: Congress shouldn't toss earmarked items blindly

Margaret Krome: Congress shouldn't toss earmarked items blindly

By Margaret Krome, Dec. 20, 2006

Congressional Democrats announced last week that they're taking a lesson from Republicans who have dodged congressional funding responsibilities.

As they are quick to protest, they didn't create the situation they're required to fix, and they haven't been given time to fix it properly. However, important programs stand to lose if they don't modify their plan.

Wisconsin Rep. Dave Obey, incoming House Appropriations Committee chairman, joined with his Senate counterpart, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, to announce a plan for the Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations process, which Republican leaders did not complete before ending the 109th Congress.

Obey and Byrd plan to make permanent the FY07 "continuing resolution," which is how Congress routinely keeps the federal government functioning when Congress hasn't completed appropriations bills; it simply takes the status quo (Fiscal Year 2006) appropriations levels and operates based on those levels.

Usually such measures are temporary fixes until Congress passes appropriations bills. But former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., refused to bring all but defense and homeland security appropriations to the floor before elections, fearing the bad karma resulting from an honest look at President Bush's deficits.

To avoid dealing with that bad news, Congress plugged the federal government into a continuing resolution since Fiscal Year 2007 began on Oct. 1. Obey and Byrd plan to make that permanent at least until the Fiscal Year 2008 begins next October.

It's reasonable to criticize Republicans for having created the nation's budget problems. Their tax cuts and spiraling defense and homeland security spending have intentionally starved the budget into a skeleton of what it was six years ago as a tactic to force down government spending on domestic programs. And certainly, Republican leaders' cynical refusal to finalize the nine unfinished spending bills in the lame duck session was intended to stick it to Democrats and watch them squirm over the budget mess.

So it's understandable that Obey and Byrd would refuse to accept the terms of the mess handed to them. But now it is Democrats' responsibility to create the best federal government possible. The Obey-Byrd plan as currently described risks disrupting crucial federal functions.

One big problem is that the plan calls for a moratorium on earmarks, the special projects requested by individual lawmakers for spending in their state or district.

People love to hate earmarks, assuming that they either line the pockets of special interests or are teapot museums, bridges to nowhere or other totally gratuitous projects. But much of the nation's most important work is earmark-funded, ranging from the most visionary and innovative work in alternative energy and sustainable agriculture to AIDS research and prevention, health care and crime prevention.

To cut earmarks wholesale wastes enormous amounts of taxpayers dollars by forcing sudden layoffs or closing facilities that must reopen at greater cost later. Rather than sever all work without regard to merit, appropriators should establish sound criteria for funding them or else defer this surgery until they can better distinguish fat from bone and essential organs.

Also, the Obey-Byrd plan forces the federal government to operate for another year under the legacy of poor legislating reflected in the 2006 budget. The federal judiciary is already itemizing cuts it would have to make to probation officers and other essential staff. Agricultural conservation programs cut in 2006 but re-funded in 2007 will be unable to recover. New energy initiatives will suffer. And so on.

Both Obey and Byrd have been responsible funding leaders, and they promise to make what they call "modest adjustments" to 2006 funding levels to ensure the sound functioning of the federal government.

Despite the press of time, thoughtful adjustments are essential. Without them, the plan risks causing irreparable damage to the fabric of the federal government.

It would be a regrettable first act if Democrats responded to an irresponsible problem left them by Republicans with an equally irresponsible solution.

Margaret Krome is a Madison resident who writes this column biweekly. E-mail: mkrome@inxpress.net
Published: December 19, 2006

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: December, 2006; RPCV Margaret Krome (Cameroon); Figures; Peace Corps Cameroon; Directory of Cameroon RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Cameroon RPCVs; Journalism; Speaking Out; Budget; Wisconsin

When this story was posted in December 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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All Volunteers Safe in Fiji All Volunteers in Fiji are safe and accounted for. The Peace Corps is monitoring the situation very closely. Volunteers are on standfast but there are no plans for evacuation at this time. Peace Corps is working closely with the US embassy and with host country partners to monitor the situation. Peace Corps is confident that volunteers are not in harm's way. The military seized control of Fiji on December 5 after weeks of threats. Subscribe to our news feed to read the latest breaking news.

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The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory or leave a message on our Bulletin Board. New: Sign up to receive our free Monthly Magazine by email, research the History of the Peace Corps, or sign up for a daily news summary of Peace Corps stories. FAQ: Visit our FAQ for more information about PCOL.

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