Senate votes down earmark ban

[sabra]

Source: CNN

(CNN) – The Senate voted against a measure Tuesday that sought to ban legislative earmarks for two years.

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/30/senate-votes-down-earmark-ban/

[mbperrin]

1. What a shock!!!!

No, not really. AS IF.

[thereismore]

2. Any republicans that voted against the ban? They will get it from the crackpots! nt

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Only 7 Democrats voted for the ban. Here's more information....

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/11/30/5551939-senate-earmark-ban-goes-down-to-defeat

A vote today in the Senate to ban earmarks for two years failed to secure the 67 votes needed to advance. The vote was 39 yes, 56 no. (A super-duper majority of 67 votes was needed due to the way the measure will filed under Senate rules.)

Earlier this month, Senate Republicans voted -- amongst themselves -- to ban earmarks in a nonbinding resolution. But eight of them voted against banning earmarks. They were Robert Bennett, Thad Cochran, Susan Collins, Jim Inhofe, Dick Lugar, Lisa Murkowski, Richard Shelby, and George Voinovich.

Of those Republicans, six of the eight (Bennett, Cochran, Collins, Murkowski, Shelby, and Voinvoich) sit on the Appropriations Committee, which doles out the federal dollars. (Bennett lost in Utah's GOP primary; Voinovich is retiring.)

[pampango]

4. 39 yes, 56 no

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/11/30/5551939-senate-earmark-ban-goes-down-to-defeat

Only seven Democrats voted for the ban. They were McCaskill, Udall, Evan Bayh, Michael Bennet, Russ Feingold, Bill Nelson, and Mark Warner. (Bayh is retiring this year, and Feingold lost his re-election bid.)

Earlier this month, Senate Republicans voted -- amongst themselves -- to ban earmarks in a nonbinding resolution. But eight of them voted against banning earmarks. They were Robert Bennett, Thad Cochran, Susan Collins, Jim Inhofe, Dick Lugar, Lisa Murkowski, Richard Shelby, and George Voinovich.

Of those Republicans, six of the eight (Bennett, Cochran, Collins, Murkowski, Shelby, and Voinvoich) sit on the Appropriations Committee, which doles out the federal dollars. (Bennett lost in Utah's GOP primary; Voinovich is retiring.)

Who didn't vote? Republicans Kit Bond and Sam Brownback, who are both retiring this year. Oddly, Democrats Barbara Boxer, Barbara Mikulski, and Jeanne Shaheen didn't vote on earmarks, but did vote on another measure minutes later.

[Bigmack]

5. Earmarks and "pork" ain't shit!...

This whole issue is a shiny object dangled in the eyes of the gullible to distract them from the real deficit causes...
- - - - - -

"These earmarks and "pork" projects are bankrupting America." You hear that a lot. Not true, though.

This year Congress spent $16.5 billion on 9,129 projects around the country, according to Citizens Against Government Waste. Which is also less than one-half of 1 percent of all federal spending.

In fact, if you could retroactively undo every single pork-barrel project Congress has passed during the past 20 years — all 110,000 of them — you would have enough money to buy down the $13.7 trillion national debt by ... 2 percent.

http://www.cagw.org /

The two wars, the Bush tax cuts and the Medicare prescription-drug program the Republicans pushed through in 2003. The Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, and pushed the Medicare drug bill through by ending a filibuster by the Democrats. Just the drug program, which was never accounted for in the budget until 2009, is adding more to the deficit than the bank bailout, the stimulus and the new health-care law combined.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_Pres ...

- - - - - -
"Foreign aid is bankrupting America." You hear that a lot, too. Not true, though.

Do you have any idea how little we give in foreign aid? $18 Billion total, and Israel gets $4Billion and Egypt gets $4 Billion right off the top of that. Those are Treaty obligations. So.. you're talking $10 Billion available. Lemme see... $10 Billion a year ...and most of our foreign aid is for things like drug interdiction and "aid in kind"... weapons that we build in this country, for example. The US spends 2/10 of 1% of our national income.. less than 1% of our national budget.
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/201 ...

http://masbury.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/wh ... /
- - - - - -

"Obama's spending is bankrupting America." You hear that a lot. Not true, though.

Here's a chart of the Congressional Budget Office report.... note the effects of the Wars and the Tax Cut for the rich. They just grow and grow. Obama's Recovery spending barely shows.


- - - -
If "Pork", Foreign Aid, and Obama's spending aren't bankrupting us... what is?"

$ 1 Trillion dollar a year military spending is the major cause. That's almost 60% of our budget's discretionary spending. Time to reign in military spending.

[robinlynne]

6. I see your point, but disagree. Earmarks are a form of corruption. Senators buy each other's

votes with earmarks.

[Bigmack]

8. In the game of buying votes... earmarks are chump change...

The corporations pour money into buying votes, and nobody gets anything out of it but the fat cats. At least with earmarks, the folks in the home district get something.

[happygoluckytoyou]

7. Earmarks SHmearmarks.... the money is in THE WAR and by that i mean CLASS WARFARE... nothing less!

[Lasher]

9. According to your chart and other sources, the Bush tax cuts are the biggest cause of deficits.

That's one reason I'd like to see every single one of them expire.