On to Earmark Reform
I'll be doing a modest roundup on the disappointing Rhode Island primary race later this morning, but I wanted to give you a heads up that, for the rest of the week, we're going to be focused on policy. Mainly, getting earmark reform passed in the House. Two bills will be voted on today and tomorrow that, once passed, will represent a very solid victory for fiscal conservatives.
The first bill is the now-famous Coburn transparency bill that passed the Senate last week. The House is expected to vote on this bill "under suspension" later today. When the House suspends the rules, that means there won't be any amendments and limited debate. This is typically reserved for less controversial bills (like naming post offices and recognizing the winners of the Super Bowl). When a bill is under suspension, it has to pass with a 2/3 supermajority, but Coburn's bill is still expected to achieve that hurdle. After that, it's on to the President for his signature.
That bill is the easy one. The harder bill to pass is earmark reform.
This bill will establish a requirement that is only effective in the House. It is expected to be voted on as early as tomorrow. If approved, this bill will require that all earmarks are identified and its authors revealed (again, this would only affect the House, not the Senate). It applies to spending bills, authorization bills, and even tax bills. Like the Coburn bill, the vote for earmark reform won't allow amendments, but it won't be conducted under suspension either. That means a simple majority will be needed to pass.
But that might be tough to do. We can expect the House's third party -- the big-spending appropriators -- to oppose this bill. That means we'll need help from some Blue Dog Democrats. A good starting point for who those "gettable" Democrats are would be the 35 who voted YES on the line item veto.
Stay tuned for more...
