How Congress Cheats Americans

It is dis-heartening to read the details of what is actually included in the tepid "Fiscal Cliff" legislation just passed by Congress. Obama gave the legislation his kiss of approval: "millionaires and billionaires will finally pay their fair share." But his spin is a smoke screen. The fact is the legislation raises everyones' taxes except for a long list of favored industries, corporations, and individuals. The long list adds up to about $40 billion in tax gifts that have nothing to do with avoiding the much ballyhooed fiscal cliff. The gifts from the lawmakers go, for a short list of examples, to racetrack owners, Hollywood producers, the windpower industry (think GE and Siemens corporations), some big banks, Whirlpool, StarKist, and other recipients. The hidden gifts were quietly stuffed into the cliff legislation by senators and representatives at the very last moment. The gifts are called "pork." The pork is a payoff to members for the members votes in favor of legislation in process. Being a pork producer is a big help in getting the funds to be re-elected. Taxpayers pay the bills for the pork, of course.

Only the 535 members of the U.S. Congress have authority to spend taxpayer money. Neither the President nor the Supreme Court can do this. There are 435 members in the House of Representatives and 100 in the Senate. Some of them routinely divert U.S. money to their own ends, just as they did as the clock ticked down on the fiscal cliff. The members call the semi-secret system “earmarks.” 

(Following is the essence of an article written by this author in 2009. It is still the way things work in Congress.)

$17 Billion for 11,000 Earmarks in Fiscal Year 2008 Alone

 Earmarks are tiny pieces of legislation buried out of sight in big pieces of legislation. When the big piece of legislation is passed, the little pieces go along for the ride with little review, debate, or notice, and taxpayers pay the bill. The little pieces can direct that federal funds be used for a specific project (see examples below), or the little pieces can direct that certain favored locations or companies or organizations get federal money from various government agencies beholding to Congress for support.

How Congress Cheats. Two Examples.

 #1. During the first week in October 2008, Congress debated the historic $700 billion financial rescue package. The world economy hung waiting for the result. The House of Representatives had already rejected a (Wall Street) bailout bill once. The Senate, hoping to get the House to relent, added $110 billion to the bill in “sweeteners,” and sent the bill back to the House.

One of the sweeteners (an earmark) gave rum makers, Bacardi and Captain Morgan, nearly $192 million in taxpayer money for marketing subsidies and production incentives. But the House would not delay the $700 billion bailout for such a minor item; it is unlikely more than a few of the 435 members even knew of the rum and (several other) earmarks buried in the bailout bill by fellow members. So the $700 billion bill passed, closer to $800 billion in cost to taxpayers. That’s how the system works.

Example #2. Early in the Iraq war, the Senate worked to pass a bill allocating $80 billion to pay for the war. The debate went on until late in the day, and the senators were tired. About 40 minutes before the bill was to be voted upon, members of the elite Appropriations Committee attached a set of miscellaneous (non-war) provisions to the bill. They said that the measures (sweeteners, once again) were needed to guarantee the approval for the bill. At the last minute, the war bill was passed by the Senate, including these special items sponsored by various senators:

• $10 million extra for a science research station at the South Pole.

(Sponsored by Senator Bond of Missouri.)

• $5 million for a communications system for Louisville, KY. (Senator Bunning of Kentucky.)

• An amendment prohibiting DHL from carrying American military cargo because DHL was German-owned. Several senators sponsored this bill after they were heavily lobbied by Federal Express and UPS.

• $3.3 million to repair a leaky dam in VT. (Senator Leahy of VT.)

This is the routine in Washington D.C. According to the watchdog group, Citizens Against Government Waste, earmarks have risen from fewer than 2,000 a year in the mid-1990s to over 11,000 projects costing $17.2 billion in fiscal year 2008. The group’s definition: A pork project is a line-item in an appropriations bill that designates tax dollars for a specific purpose in circumvention of established budgetary procedures.