AS bipartisan majorities overwhelmed all attempts to eliminate pork-barrel earmarks during a recent House session, one effort actually passed. The reason that for the first time House members voted to deprive a colleague of pork for his district is the identity of that colleague: Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.).
McHenry’s $129,000 earmark would promote tourism in economically distressed Mitchell County. The new Democratic majority’s leadership, which routinely supports earmarks, cracked the whip against this one in the apparent spirit of political revenge. A conservative firebrand, McHenry had humiliated the Democratic majority by leading GOP parliamentary maneuvers that immobilized the House to force transparency of earmarks previously hidden by both parties.
But the House the last week of June showed that the celebrated transparency is a sham. Each newly transparent earmark brought to a floor vote lost by a huge margin. In traditional congressional log-rolling, one earmarker protects another. There is no political risk because these votes are publicly ignored. Members insisting on their pork reflect bipartisan congressional nonchalance about ballooning federal spending. Demonstrating how cynical are their pretensions toward earmark reform, Democrats also got even with the bumptious McHenry.
Considering the Interior Appropriations bill June 26, the House kept alive 11 egregious earmarks. Rep. John Murtha, king of Democratic earmarkers, kept $1.2 million for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission in Hollidaysburg, Pa. (by a 343 to 86 vote), and $150,000 for W.A. Young & Sons Foundry in Greene County, Pa. (328 to 104). The House voted 323 to 104 to retain $140,000 for the Wetzel County, W. Va., courthouse sponsored by Democratic Rep. Allan Mollohan, whose earmarks have provoked an FBI investigation.
Moving on to Financial Services Appropriations June 28, the House voted 335 to 87 to continue Murtha’s raid on the Treasury: $231,000 for the Grace Johnstown (Pa.) Area Regional Industries Incubator. As usual, dauntless Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona led the way in targeting colleagues’ earmarks. He didn’t exempt Republican pork fanciers – including California Rep. Jerry Lewis, whose past earmarking raised ethical questions.
Flake opposed Lewis’ $500,000 earmark for the Barracks Row Main Street project in Southeast Washington, D.C. Flake noted on the House floor that millions in federal funds have flowed into that neighborhood since 1999, including a $750,000 earmark last year. “I certainly hope,” said Flake, “that we are not approving a redevelopment earmark today to redevelop last year’s redevelopment earmark.”
Such comments led GOP leaders last year to purge Flake from the House Judiciary Committee. A smiling, sarcastic Lewis asked Flake: “Have you ever attended the Silent March that takes place on Friday evenings at the Marine barracks [on Barracks Row]?” “I have not,” Flake replied. “You have not. I would suggest to the gentleman that probably one of the most important things that a member of Congress should do is to go to the Marine barracks.” Lewis’ earmark was retained, 361 to 60.
Flake’s earmark list included McHenry’s development grant for Mitchell County, which he said “is simply not a good use of federal dollars.” Before the vote, Flake privately reassured McHenry that his earmark was certain to be saved by the pork- hungry House. “Don’t be too sure,” McHenry replied.
An embarrassed McHenry told me that this might well be his last earmark. That does signal a little progress, unintentionally resulting from hypocritical pretensions of reform by the Democratic majority.