[mass55th]

"“I think it’s admirable, and I think that the country should respond,” Goodlatte told The Post. “Obviously, we can’t let citizens raise money and say, ‘The government will spend my money on this purpose.’ ”"

Bullcrap. The government sold Bonds, and use the proceeds to specifically finance WWII. That was a particular purpose.

[PIF]

“Some agencies can accept gifts directly for earmarked purposes ...”

“earmarked” key word ... selling Bonds to finance WWII is an earmark.

[greeneyes]

“Obviously, we can’t let citizens raise money and say, ‘The government will spend my money on this purpose.’ ”" *************************************************************************** And there you have the root of the problem. They don't think that taxpayer's money should be used like the taxpayer's want. They are like thieves - take your money and spend it how THEY want. They don't respect Government of the people and by the people.

[NativeSon]

Great point. And since when, are We The People, not in charge? (I mean when the politicos flap their yaps)

[The Pack Knight]

Bullcrap. The government sold Bonds, and use the proceeds to specifically finance WWII. That was a particular purpose.

That's not exactly true. The money from the Series E "War Bonds" went into the Treasury. It wasn't ear-marked for military purposes or any other specific appropriation--it just happened that the war constituted most of the budget at the time.

The money went into the Treasury, and the Constitution says Congress gets to decide where it goes from there. Per Article I, Section 9, "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law."

The same would be true of thus GoFundMe money, if it was actually donated to the Treasury--if it's even allowed. If the money goes into the Treasury, then Congress has free rein on how it is spent, and has no obligation to listen to the donors. It could be routed to a special fund that was created in the 1990s (I think) to allow donations to pay down the national debt.

That said, Congress has authorized some agencies to accept donations, such as the National Forest Service and the Library of Congress. There's no reason Congress couldn't authorize CBP or the Corps of Engineers (whoever would be responsible for building the wall) to accept donations for the wall.

Unfortunately, the reason Congress won't build the wall has nothing to do with money, of course.

[gleeaikin]

“even as he expressed reservations about allowing private citizens to govern with their wallets.”

You mean this Congressman doesn’t know that with every campaign contribution he accepts he gives the appearance of governing with their wallets, as do all the rest.