Vt. delegation supports reform of earmark budget process

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(Host) Members of Vermont’s Congressional delegation say they support a reform of the so called earmark budget process in Washington.

But they also argue that earmarks have funded a lot of good projects in Vermont and shouldn’t be discontinued.

VPRs Bob Kinzel reports:

(Kinzel) It’s often been said that a vital project supported by one member of Congress is another member’s example of wasteful spending.

Earmarks, as they’re known, allow members of Congress to designate millions of dollars for special projects in their home state.

An omnibus budget bill, left over from the 2008 Congress, is being delayed in Washington by a group of mostly Republican senators because the bill includes roughly 9,000 earmarks at a cost of approximately 8 billion dollars.

Vermont’s delegation has several dozen projects in the bill but they’re reluctant to discuss them publicly until the legislation becomes law in case one of the projects is dropped.

Senator Patrick Leahy is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations committee.  He’s won earmarks to improve the water quality of Lake Champlain, to increase funding for law enforcement and to provide money for wastewater treatment plants.

He thinks the earmark process needs to be more transparent and he notes that GOP Senate leaders also have earmarks in this bill:

(Leahy) "I’ve always taken the position that whoever puts an earmark in there, their name should be there with it so we know exactly what they are…I’m willing to justify every one of these because in the long run the taxpayers are going to get more money back than what they’re spending."

Leahy says it’s important to give all lawmakers a voice in the budget process and he says his support to make emergency repairs at the Waterbury dam is a good example of this:

(Leahy) "Do you think a bureaucracy in Washington for example would have spent the money to help repair the Waterbury dam before it ended up flooding out numerous communities…they weren’t going to do that without an earmark directing them to."

Congressman Peter Welch says that earmarks have been abused in the past and that’s why he supports a reform of the process starting with Defense Department projects:

(Welch) "Because that’s where there are the most earmarks and frankly that the most questionable value every decision about a defense dollar should be made on how it strengthens our national defense – not on who and what member of Congress, how powerful that member is –  is advocating for the particular program."

Senator Bernie Sanders says his earmarks have been used to fund a variety of health care programs, to support affordable housing initiatives, and to provide money for the new Vermont National Guard solar energy project at the Burlington airport.

All of the Vermont earmarks will be publicly identified on line once President Obama signs the new budget bill into law.

For VPR News I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.

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