Mitch McConnell Backs Earmark Ban After Requesting Nearly $1 BILLION In Pork

The top Republican in the Senate has reversed course and endorsed a moratorium on pork-barrel projects known as "earmarks." Those are special funding requests lawmakers slip into legislation for home-state projects.

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell says he's heeding the message voters sent in elections that swept Democrats from power in the House. He says he can't accuse Democrats of failing to ignore the wishes of the American people and then be guilty of the same thing.

McConnell's move gives tea party activists a win and heads off a battle with conservatives in his own party in the Senate. House GOP leaders had already endorsed a ban on the practice.

McConnell, a member of the Appropriations Committee, is a longtime defender of earmarking. The Kentucky Republican has requested 158 solo earmarks amounting to a cost of $927,872,000 over the past two years, according to data provided by LegiStorm.

During a recent appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," McConnell expressed doubt over the ability of an earmark ban to advance spending reduction initiatives.

"The problem is, it doesn't save any money," explained the explained the Senate leader. "What we really need to do is to concentrate on reducing spending and reducing debt. And this debate doesn't save any money, which is why it is kind of exasperating to some of us who really want to cut spending."

President Obama released a statement on Monday praising McConnell's support:

I welcome Senator McConnell's decision to join me and members of both parties who support cracking down on wasteful earmark spending, which we can't afford during these tough economic times. As a Senator, I helped eliminate anonymous earmarks, and as President, I've called for new limitations on earmarks and set new, higher standards of transparency and accountability. But we can't stop with earmarks as they represent only part of the problem. In the days and weeks to come, I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to not only end earmark spending, but to find other ways to bring down our deficits for our children.

Comments

[vanhoopcoach]

12:31 AM on 12/22/2010

xmaskarol,
Very good points.
However, let's me and you proclaim an immdeiate truth concerning the Tea Party.
First of all, there is no such thing....The Tea Party is nothing more than some cowardly republicans who knew that they could not(without offering great comendy) clammour for the changes that the 'movement' has after they infact voted for George Bush, twice.

[Downrivers]

10:15 AM on 11/25/2010

McConnell---------has sponsored or co-sponsored $1,535,993,325 in earmarks in only the past TWO years....those dollars are BILLIONS.

http://www.legistorm.com/earmarks/details/member/70/Sen_Mitch_McConnell_KY/page/1/sort/amount/type/desc/year/all.html

McConnell is the poster boy for Hypocrisy in the Senate

[Chivas]

01:27 PM on 12/02/2010

What a hypocritical pig. Wait, he's a turtle! Hmm?

[xmaskarol]

09:08 AM on 11/25/2010

Mitch...what a crafty politico he is...earmarks are bad now that I got mine...what a selfish pig. This reflects on the voters who put him in office, and keep him there. Thats right I'm saying they know what they are doing...getting all they can from the federal gov. and then saying how wrong it is for anyone else to get some...oh, oh, the govt. is too big. lets put a stop to all this hypocrocy!!

[Danilo Gurovich]

07:30 AM on 11/24/2010

So all these Teabaglican leaders last month had all the answers about cutting spending and creating jobs, and even before they take power or reinforce their side of the aisle they are all saying "well, it's more complicated than just cutting earmarks and taxes"....

Well they seem to have had all the answers LAST month.

That dance McConnell and Boehner are doing isn't a "moonwalk"... it's backpedaling so fast that it looks like two Olympic Sprinters running in reverse.

[Javalation]

10:14 PM on 11/23/2010

It would be good to cut spending, especially in military appropriations, but increasing revenue would also help balance the books a lot. Odd that fiscally responsible conservatives don't want to acknowledge that fact. We need the estate tax on enormous estates and we need to terminate the Bush tax cut for the wealthy. It's simple math really, if one wants to balance the books..

[xmaskarol]

09:10 AM on 11/25/2010

Good post, I'll second that.

[Chivas]

01:31 PM on 12/02/2010

Motion in third! F/f

[Allgernon]

04:55 PM on 11/23/2010

I like that Mitch (Manly Man) McConnell is referred to as the "top Republican". Republicans like being on top. He talks like he's the majority leader. I hope nobody tells him.

[michellejordan]

03:10 PM on 11/23/2010

I wouldn't trust this guy for five seconds. Look into his eyes. What do you see? I see a guy that's been backed into a corner - I see fear. Lately, he always has a look on his face like the devil himself has appeared to cash in on their pacts. And now, he has to either actually follow through with his promises to cut earmarks and answer to big business in Kentucky OR follow through with his promises to big business and answer to the American people to whom he has now postured very publicly. I didn't think the issue was relevant in the big picture, but now, he's got my attention...like everyone else's. Quandary, dilemma, what will you do? Either way spells pain, Senator McConnell -- maybe that's why you keep seeing "Old Scratch".

[Janicot]

07:26 PM on 11/23/2010

I can't stand to look at Mitch McConnell for more than a split second, he reminds me of a talking big toe.

[michellejordan]

08:24 PM on 11/23/2010

ahaaha, that's funny :)

[spiegelp]

02:41 PM on 11/23/2010

Earmarks are the reason McConnell Cantor get a Boehner

[Sandra K Bondell]

04:30 PM on 11/22/2010

Can anyone send me info on contacting Mitch McConnell, and calling hin out on his $1 billion request in pork.? He voted to ban earmarks and then slides this through. We can't afford it, we all are cutting back, and Washington has to cut this outrageous behavior. I can't even afford to have a Thanksgiving dinner. And Christmas? Not this year. He is an elected official which means he is a public servanr working for us. He will also have to drop his luxury healthcare as our servants should not have more then their employers.

[ChrisGee]

10:48 PM on 11/18/2010

Addendum to my post asking for a correction: Please know that I am no political fan of Sen. McConnell. I AM a fan, however, of quality reporting. And when I see sloppy reporting in the HuffPost, accompanied by inflammatory headlines, I shake my head in disgust. I do so because every incidence of such carelessness accompanied by politically-slanted writing gives the political opponents of Progressive policies evidence that this media outlet will exaggerate or make up "facts" to promote the "liberal" policy.

PLEASE, HuffPost editors, PLEASE put more emphasis at a minimum on accuracy in reporting. Else you will be showing yourself as merely a liberal version of Fox Noise.

[ChrisGee]

10:24 PM on 11/18/2010

Please issue a correction. The author who sourced this article did not verifying the figures for earmarks requested by Sen McConnell for this period per the methodology used by the primary source of this data (Taxpayers for Common Sense). When this article appeared, LegiStorm was incorrectly showing totals that included "earmarks" requested by the President, while OpenSecrets.com was correctly excluding them. Both websites use data provided by Taxpayers for Common Sense, which recommends not including President-requested earmarks. LegiStorm has since corrected this discrepancy in their methodology, and is now showing these figures for Sen. McConnell:

Fiscal Year(s) 2008-2010 Number Cost
Solo Earmarks 134 $298,062,000
With Other Members 66 $159,862,325
All Congressional 200 $457,924,325
All Sponsored Earmarks 233* $1,535,993,325*

[ChrisGee]

10:22 PM on 11/18/2010

Please issue a correction. The author who sourced this article did not verifying the figures for earmarks requested by Sen McConnell for this period per the methodology used by the primary source of this data (Taxpayers for Common Sense). When this article appeared, LegiStorm was incorrectly showing totals that included "earmarks" requested by the President, while OpenSecrets.com was. Both websites use data provided by Taxpayers for Common Sense, which recommends not including President-requested earmarks. LegiStorm has since corrected this discrepancy in their methodology, and is now showing these figures for Sen. McConnell:

Fiscal Year(s) 2008-2010 Number Cost
Solo Earmarks 134 $298,062,000
With Other Members 66 $159,862,325
All Congressional 200 $457,924,325
All Sponsored Earmarks 233* $1,535,993,325*

[Hakumen]

01:00 AM on 11/18/2010

He will go back to gorging on the pork once he manages to fool the Tea Party into not paying attention to what the Republicans are going to put into action. Just like they always do.

[gwinegarden]

09:21 AM on 11/17/2010

It's like gorging yourself and then telling everyone else it's time to to stop eating.

[xmaskarol]

09:15 AM on 11/25/2010

Exactly...more pie please

[WakeUp2021]

09:20 AM on 11/17/2010

If republicans were arsonists!

The arsonists would blame the fire department for forest fires.
"The fire department's policy of wasting water on fires doesn't work!"
The no-nothing voters would put the arsonists in charge of fighting fires.
"The arsonists big wins in the election prove that gasoline puts out fires!"
The arsonists create the largest forest fire in history, again!!!
"Part-time honorary volunteer fire fighters Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi caused the fires."