The Fiscal Year 2011 Consolidated Appropriations Act, otherwise known as the Omnibus Spending Bill, is a $1.1 trillion piece of legislation that funds overall government activities for the 2011 fiscal year. As are many bills in this lame duck session, the Omnibus Spending Bill is in jeopardy. The problem: billions of dollars worth of special appropriations, known as earmarks, which typically only benefit one congressperson's constituents. According to CNN's Ed Hornick, several prominent Republicans, such as John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, have vowed to vote No on the bill because of earmarks, despite the fact that they themselves inserted earmarks into the bill for their own constituents.
The tactic of blocking a spending bill is nothing new. One party decries what they consider to be runaway spending by the other party. The other party screams that the country is facing a government shutdown if the votes aren't there.
Does anyone recall what happened in 1995? In November of 1995, after the expiration of a continuing resolution to fund the government, and President Clinton's veto of a second continuing resolution, and his veto on raising the debt ceiling, a partial government shutdown occurred that lasted for five days. This partial shutdown resulted in the furlough, or leave without pay, of 800,000 federal employees, according to a CRS Report for Congress by Kevin Kosar. A second occurred one month later, and was the longest on record, lasting from Dec. 16, 1995, to Jan. 6, 1996.
The effects of a partial government shutdown are widespread. In addition to the furloughing of non-essential federal employees, veterans services are severely curtailed, Social Security payments may cease, the Centers for Disease Control stop monitoring for outbreaks, patients aren't accepted in NIH hospitals, passports and visas aren't processed, national parks are closed, and border patrol hiring is suspended, as well as delinquent child support enforcement and background checks for firearms. For small government proponents, who might cheer at the news that the federal government is greatly reduced during a shutdown - don't. The same laws and regulations you don't like are still in effect, there's just no one there to process your firearm or conceal and carry permit. Everything just gets put on hold.
This year may see a repeat of 1995, as the federal government is already operating under another Continuing Resolution to fund the government. This resolution expires this weekend. What's different about this year is that, owing to the message sent by fiscal conservatives during the midterm elections, many senators and representatives signed a pledge to eliminate the practice of using earmarks to requisition money for pet projects back home.
Previously, the earmarking process seemed shady, and pundits complained that money was being appropriated for "frivolous" projects that waste taxpayer money. The process today is out in the open, and anyone can access the Omnibus Bill and Earmark Charts to read who has requested how much and for what purpose.
For voters: If your senator or representative is using earmarks and you don't like it, vote him or her out. However, in a time when many state and local budgets are facing severe deficits, these earmarks, some argue, are more necessary than ever to fund important projects such as health research, small business education programs, and community outreach.
In a year when unemployment is still close to 10 percent, and extension of tax cuts is being discussed to aid in the recovery, is putting nearly a million people on unpaid furloughs a good idea? Congressional Republicans are itching for a fight, and many have keyed in on ending earmarks as a popular movement that they can make a principled stand on. You can't have your cake and eat it too, senators. If you want to ban the practice of earmarking money for your districts, don't add them to the bill and then vote No. One can only assume that you really aren't on board with ending earmarks and only care about appearances. Flip-flop, anyone?
Sources:
Hornick, Ed. (2010). GOP Senators Will Vote Against Spending Bill Over Earmarks - Theirs and Others'. CNN. Kosar, Kevin R. (2004). Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Effects, and Process.
Omnibus Bill. (2004). Appropriations.
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