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