porkbustersnewsm.jpgPORKBUSTERS UPDATE: An email from Senator Jim DeMint’s office:

The Senate will likely vote tomorrow on Sen. DeMint’s amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. The amendment strikes Section 1002 that incorporates all of the secret earmarks written in committee reports, giving them the force of law even though they are not in the bill, not debated, not voted on, and not signed into law.

This “incorporation language” must be stopped.

– It effectively reverses the President’s Executive Order that Porkbusters pushed him to issue, which aims to stop secret, non-legislative earmarks dead in their tracks.

– It forces agencies to make funding decisions based on the instructions they get from committee staff who author these reports rather than on merit.

– It prevents Congress from debating and voting on earmarks, which is the only true form of transparency and accountability.

– It sets a dangerous precedent that will be repeated if it is not challenged and stopped.

Please also note that the GOP earmark reform task force created by Sen. McConnell recommended that all earmarks be written into our bills. That’s what the Constitution requires. The vote tomorrow on DeMint’s amendment will test Republican support for this principle.

If the amendment is adopted, the earmarks in the reports will become what Sen. Durbin famously described as just a “note to your sister” and will not be legally binding. Instead, government agencies will be able to spend these taxpayer funds on true national priorities, not special interest politics.

Sounds like a bad idea to me. If you have feelings on the subject, you might want to let your Senators know.