en. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a longtime critic of pork spending, has introduced S. Res. 173, intended to make it easier to weed out earmarks in appropriations bills that are unauthorized or not requested by the president. Co-sponsoring the bill are Senators Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) If passed, the resolution would help restrain out-of-control spending by requiring 60 votes to retain an earmark if a senator raised a point of order against it.
Earmarking is often used by legislators to “bring home the bacon” to benefit their district or state even if the spending may not be necessary. Sen. McCain has long contended that most special projects inserted into annual appropriations bills are both wasteful and partial to legislators’ political motives.
By CAGW’s count, earmarks have increased by 346%, from 2,100 in 1998, to 9,362 in 2003. A resolution designed to question the objectivity of unauthorized appropriations is imperative as wasteful spending and pork barreling practices increase every year. Special projects spending has risen by 70 percent since 1998, from $13.2 billion to $22.5 billion in fiscal 2003.
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