Coburn: Earmark Myths and Realities

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Muskogee) penned an op-ed on NationalReview.com today, discussing earmarks. In the piece, he states, "As Senate Republicans prepare to vote on an earmark moratorium, I would encourage my colleagues to consider four myths and four realities of the debate."

According to Coburn, the four earmarking myths are:

• "Eliminating earmarks does not actually save any money."
• "Earmarks represent a very tiny portion of the federal budget and eliminating them would do little to reduce the deficit."
• "Earmarking is about whose discretion it is to make spending decisions. Do elected members of Congress decide how taxes are spent, or do unelected bureaucrats and Obama administration officials?"
• "The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility and authority to earmark."

He addresses each of these common defenses of earmarks, and shares four realities that he sees.

• Earmarks are a major distraction
• This debate is over among the American people and the House GOP
• Earmarking is bad policy
• Earmarking is bad politics

 I highly encourage you to read Coburn's excellent article by clicking here.