As I wrote last month, I sent Sam Graves an e-mail about disclosing his earmarks. Here is the e-mail I sent him.
The Congressional Earmark Reform that was passed on January 4, 2007 requires you to disclose your earmark requests.
H. Res. 6, Title IV, Section 402(b) amends Rule XXIII by requiring members to submit written requests for earmarks to the chairman and ranking minority member of the relevant committee that includes the members’ name; name and address of the intended recipient or location of the earmark; the purpose of the earmark; and a certification that the member or spouse has no financial interest in the earmark.â€
I know you voted against it, which is the first time I have seen you vote contrary to how I would. What was your reasoning?
Getting back to the point, I see you did not disclose a list of earmarks for fiscal year 2008. Is this because you are doing the right thing and not abusing the General Welfare Clause? I hope that is what is it. I hope you have not contributed to the 33,000+ earmark requests.
Earmarks, or as Madam Speaker would like to call them, legislative directives, are simply wrong and need to be done away with, the sooner the better. It was one of the sources of corruption that lead to the Democrats regaining power in the Congress. Continuing the process will not endear yourselves to the American people. The Republicans need to take a stand on this issue. They need to get back to the fiscal conservatism that Goldwater preached. Do that, and mean it, and you will see the approval ratings for Republicans rise. As it stands now, the people simply don’t trust Republicans to do what is best for the country, but what is best for their re-election.
I look forward to your response.
I received a response from him in the mail today. He writes:
Dear Duane:
Thank you for contacting me regarding appropriations requests. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
In the United States appropriations process, Congress has the power to direct the appropriations of money drawn from the treasury. This includes the power to earmark funds it appropriates (in other words, “to designate revenue”) to be spent on specific named projects. The earmarking process is a regular part of the process of allocating funds within the federal government. Earmarks are often in reports issued by the House and Senate before the formal debate, rather than appearing in the actual legislation itself. This makes earmarking a non-transparent process that is difficult to quantify.
I have been upfront about my appropriation requests; I am proud of the federal funds I help bring back to the district. These funds are vital to our district and have helped do things such as build roads, bridges, schools and provided vital law enforcement equipment, but I agree with you that more transparency is needed.
Once again, thank you for contacting me. If you have any further questions regarding this or any other matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me or visit my website at www.house.gov/graves.
Sincerely,
Sam Graves, Member of Congress
I planned on confronting Sam tomorrow at the Fly-In in Tarkio about not getting a response. Now I can ask him about this paragraph:
I have been upfront about my appropriation requests; I am proud of the federal funds I help bring back to the district. These funds are vital to our district and have helped do things such as build roads, bridges, schools and provided vital law enforcement equipment, but I agree with you that more transparency is needed.
I have to know, which of those things the federal funds pay for are supposed to be paid for with federal funds?
Answer: none.
The federal government should not be building roads in Atchison County, or bridges or schools. City, county and state funds should be used for that, along with charities and private donations. Same with “vital law enforcement equipment.” Perhaps if Missouri taxpayers were not paying such a heavy tax burden to the federal government, we could afford to buy those things ourselves. I just can’t feel like you are doing us any favors by taking our money, laundering it in Washington and then giving it back to us. Why should I feel like you have done me a service by wasting my money on bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.?
I’ll be interested in hearing his response.
Don’t misunderstand me. I like Sam Graves as a Congressman. He generally votes as I would given the opportunity. But Congress as a whole has to be questioned on earmarks.
