Cutting Federal Spending
The president of the Heritage Foundation, Edwin J. Feulner at a joint press conference called for cutting the federal budget in the face of the extensive damage along the gulf coast. One paragraph in his remarks illustrates his main point:
Recent calls to return money earmarked for pet pork projects in the highway bill have resonated with taxpayers throughout the country. Why? Because Main Street Americans recognize that money is better spent on hurricane recovery projects than on vanity projects like bike trails and $220 million bridges to nowhere.
His remarks are extremely apropos coming on the heels of the recent amendments offered by freshman Senator from Oklahoma Tom Coburn:
He offered amendments requiring that previously approved earmarks favored by colleagues be cancelled and the tax dollars instead spent on hurricane recovery.
But the majority of the senate can’t have that.
What Coburn got in response was pure bipartisan outrage.
The majority of our legislators play the game of bringing home the bacon to benefit the “local economy”. In reality they are buying votes and full well know it. The list of who voted which way is at the end of the op-ed. No surprises which way Hawaii’s senators voted.