Tag Archive » earmarks
One-year earmark moratorium fails in Senate
A closely watched proposal for a congressional “time out” on earmark spending failed by a wide margin late Thursday night, creating some unusual Senate alliances along the way. Senators voted 71-29 against a measure by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) that would have imposed a one-year moratorium on earmarks. The measure needed 60 votes to pass because it was ruled non-germane to the budget, prompting DeMint to ask that the Budget Act be waived. Presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) all voted for the amendment, as expected. In a surprise, so did Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a longtime top appropriator for Kentucky who has traditionally taken a skeptical approach to the idea of limiting earmark spending. “The DeMint-McCain amendment would have provided an important pause to allow us all—those who oppose earmarks and those who favor them—to take a step back, build a better oversight system, and allow these reforms to be implemented,” McConnell said in a subsequent statement.
Read the story from The Hill | No Comments | Posted March 14, 2008 at 10:19 AM by Sam Bear
Stanford Law Professor Larry Lessig Explores Bid for Congress
Digital rights crusader Larry Lessig said Tuesday that he’s considering a bid to take over the late Rep. Tom Lantos’ (D-Calif.) congressional seat. He has given himself a March 1 deadline to make the decision. In a video released on the web late Tuesday, the Stanford law professor formally launched what he calls the “Change Congress Movement,” and he put out feelers to check support for his candidacy. The professor’s goal is to tackle a problem that has dogged politics since perhaps the beginning of time: the corrupting influence of money. In the video, Lessig called on members of Congress to form a bipartisan coalition whose participants would take three pledges he says would change the system: Take no money from political action committees, ban earmarks and agree to public financing of campaigns.
Read the story from Wired | 2 comments | Posted February 20, 2008 at 10:43 PM by Sam Bear
