EARMARKS:

Reid, Ensign bring home the bacon

But as Reid exults in his haul from the spending bill, Ensign rails against pork and quietly secures his own

Chris Morris

By Lisa Mascaro (contact)

Sunday, March 15, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Harry Reid

John Ensign

Expect help, not public works monuments (3-10-2009)
From receiving end, earmarks look good (3-1-2009)
Stimulus scroogery was fated for state (3-1-2009)
Louder now: No on pork for mob museum (1-8-2009)
Does party have Reid over a pork barrel? (3-12-2008)

Archive of Sun politics stories

Politics: The Early Line

Washington — Nevada’s two senators, Democrat Harry Reid and Republican John Ensign, both bring federal money to the state in sizable if not equal shares, earmarking millions of dollars annually for water projects, police departments and other needs up and down Nevada.

In the $410 billion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama, they successfully supplemented Nevada’s troubled state budget with an assist from the federal government.

But the two senators differ greatly on how they let the state know of their deeds.

On the day Congress approved the spending bill for fiscal 2009, Reid’s office announced more than $100 million he had secured for Nevada.

Reid touted earmarks that included $376,000 for an arid rangeland program at the University of Nevada, Reno, and $200,000 for youth programs at Boys Town of Las Vegas.

Ensign secured more than $50 million, including funding for some of the same projects Reid trumpeted, but he gave little indication of the accomplishment.

Instead, Ensign was on Fox News decrying “this pig of a bill.”

The two approaches show the political and attitudinal divide in Washington over the way budgeting works, and the conflicts lawmakers face as they try to burnish their fiscally prudent credentials while delivering for constituents back home.

Steve Ellis, vice president of the fiscal watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, said the difference lies not only in party affiliation or political persuasion but also in the way lawmakers earned their chops.

Reid came to prominence on the Senate appropriations committee, seeing firsthand the power and influence that comes from delivering for home state needs. Ensign rode into Congress on the conservative wave of 1994 with its near-religious belief in smaller government.

“Sen. Reid, through and through, is an appropriator,” Ellis said. That Reid unabashedly supports earmarks is not surprising.

“Sen. Ensign appears to have a more conflicted relationship,” Ellis said. “He’s railing against earmarks but he also benefits. There’s some ambivalence and squeamishness about them, but he’s getting them.”

Obama was roundly criticized for signing the $410 billion bill with more than 8,500 specially marked pet projects for lawmakers. He said he would rather hold his nose and sign the bill at this point than pick a fight with his fellow Democrats in Congress while he is trying to address many other major issues.

As he signed the bill, Obama also spoke of putting further limits on earmarks, including calls for greater transparency.

Still, many critics derided the bill, with its 8 percent increase in spending over last year’s levels, even as spending on earmarks was down in fiscal 2009 by $500 million, according one analysis.

Public opposition raged, egged on by continuous coverage on the cable news shows and talk radio.

Even Reid’s own party temporarily revolted over the spending, momentarily derailing the bill’s passage in a surprise blow to Democratic Party unity in Washington. Republicans had just under half the earmarks in the bill.

Reid can at times seem tone deaf to complaints about earmarks. When asked by Nevada reporters what he had to say to those who criticized the earmarks in the bill, Reid bellowed: “What I would say to them is they should get a life.”

“We should do a poll for everything we do here?” he asked.

Reid defends earmarking, accurately, as a practice as old as the Constitution. As a senator, he said, he knows more about Nevada’s needs than a bureaucrat in Washington entrusted with doling out federal money, often by formulas.

In fact, as earmarks have been a long-standing tradition in Washington and a key source of political and monetary capital for lawmakers to spend back home.

But the practice of funneling money to pet projects grew at alarming rates as Republicans controlled Congress early in the decade, multiplying to more than 16,000 by 2005. The source of the earmarks was often all but impossible to discover.

Earmarks became sullied during the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal as they were seen as being swapped for gifts and campaign cash — turning Congress into what some called a favor factory.

Republicans “really messed it up for everybody,” Reid said. Yet Democrats, too, participated in the expansion.

Democrats instituted some of the most expansive reforms in history when they took control of Congress in 2007, namely by requiring that lawmakers sign their names to their spending requests.

Ellis disputes Reid’s contention that the upcoming fiscal 2010 spending bills will have a 50 percent decrease in the amount spent on earmarks, saying it will be more like a 25 percent drop. But he commends Reid for presiding over an important first step. “Even though he opposed it at times, he has presided over increased transparency in the earmark system,” Ellis said.

Still, the complaints over earmarks rage on, coming mainly from Republicans, although a few key Democrats have also sworn off the practice.

“We’ve heard about all the earmarks,” Ensign said on the floor of the Senate after the bill passed, noting a $1.79 million earmark “for swine odor and manure management research.

“Now, I’m a veterinarian by profession. I understand that pigs smell and pig farms smell worse than almost anything else,” Ensign went on. “But when did it become the responsibility of the federal government to control pig odor?”

Yet Ensign himself secured millions for pet projects in his home state, spending he says he is proud to put his name on.

Ensign routinely explains that he doesn’t oppose all earmarks, only the frivolous or wasteful ones. His earmarks, he believes, do not fall in that category.

“Ensign’s requests are worthwhile and can be defended in public,” said Ensign’s spokesman, Tory Mazzola. “Earmarks are a way for smaller states to compensate for other government funding that may not be sufficient.”

Nevertheless, Ensign voted against the spending bill, opposing what he calls the wasteful spending in the package.

As for the $50 million he had secured for Nevada — most if not all of that money will flow to the state now that the bill has been signed into law.

Lisa Mascaro can be reached at (202) 662-7436 or at lisa.mascaro@lasvegassun.com.

Discussion: 15 comments so far…

By fremmasmind

3/15/09 at 5:50 a.m.

Suggest removal

Transparency is a good thing, but you would think our Congress and Senate would for once pass a bill without earmarks and give our country a chance to balance our budget without devaluing our dollar. Just because everybody is speeding in their car and gets away with it, does that mean its O.K.?
By jfnance32

3/15/09 at 7:25 a.m.

Suggest removal

Nevada is ranked at the bottom at getting taxmoney money return back to the state in terms of per capita.

Nevada is a donor state.

In the "stimulus" bill, we were again ranked in the bottom at getting money out of that bill even though we are near the top in unemployment and foreclosures.

Reid is the second most powerful person in DC according to some rankings.

We are getting far from any output in relation to that power ranking.
By davelv

3/15/09 at 8:31 a.m.

Suggest removal

You fail to note the 100 million dollars lost due to cutting the Yucca Mountain Project funding this year and the 2 billion dollars lost for each of the next 50 years.

The long term impact to union employment, tax revenue, schools, United Way, NPR, PBS, etc etc far exceeds the pittance that Reid is taking credit for.
By bobojake

3/15/09 at 8:37 a.m.

Suggest removal

Harry Reid was on Rusty Humphries Talk Show Friday night and Harry said Americans are sad they are not MAD about the state of the economy. It time to tell Harry we are Mad as Hell
Call Harry Reid 202 224 5556 in Washington DC and Let him know how Mad we are with the inconsiderate, incompetent obama and the SENATE

email harry
http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm...

Are you Democrats going to let this incompetent, inconsiderate left wingers of obama, schummmmmmer, reid, peloski, rambo the vulgar and murray take over your party and promote the rape of our children and grand children futures.

They don't give a dang about you real democrats. they just hijacked your party to promote MARXIST and Communism
By homer

3/15/09 at 8:40 a.m.

Suggest removal

Ensign, the true hypocrite. A complete failure who belongs to the Bush clones of old guard of Republicans who have ruined America with Bush thinking.
By aBadReid

3/15/09 at 9:09 a.m.

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I have to agree with comments below. Harry Reid is the Senate MAJORITY leader. You would think that he would spend less time with unimportant matters such as these "pork" filled efforts and obtain more stimulus money for his state.

Look at the facts as reported on aBadReid.com

Bad Reid
Bad Senator
By texexnv

3/15/09 at 9:10 a.m.

Suggest removal

Reid's (OUR) $100,000,000 share of the $410,000,000,000 pig carcass comes out to a whopping 1/4 of 1%. Ensign's contributions to help us out are too ensignificant to even calculate.

So somebody please explain what the point is of having these two Senators if they don't/can't/won't even deliver a fair share of money back home when our state is on the edge of bankruptcy?

As the (alleged) most powerful man in the Senate, the best Reid can do is 1/4 of 1% and then BRAG about it! Pathetic....simply pathetic...
By ShannonK

3/15/09 at 9:20 a.m.

Suggest removal

I don't understand the uproar about earmarks. Taking the earmarks out of a budget does not reduce the amount of the budget. The money is already in the budget for the various entities, and earmarks just specify a certain amount of money from that budget will go to a specific project. People act like it will save the country money by abolishing earmarks. No, it won't.
By texexnv

3/15/09 at 9:42 a.m.

Suggest removal

"Earmarks" is nothing but a red herring meant to distract from the larger picture of the bottom line: How much does Nevada get and is it a "fair share" of the whole? Which tells us how effective our two Senators are being on our behalf in Washington.

1/4 of 1% sucks.
By Richard

3/15/09 at 9:44 a.m.

Suggest removal

I read here in detail what Sen. Reid's earmarks were. Now I read that Sen. Ensign had 'em too (of course.) But, what were they? How can we judge one without knowing the other.

A senator steering silly pork, and frequently unnecessary, projects is one thing. But earmarks for worthy projects is probably an efficient way to get it done.

A President should have the power to line item reject, though. He/she would have to answer for their judgment in doing so.
By CronkyVoddy

3/15/09 at 10:27 a.m.

Suggest removal

We need two new Senators.
Any suggestions?

Is there any politician in this state who has the brainpower and will do the best for our state, regardless of political party?

Seriously, is there anyone out there or is the best we can do?
By bluez1

3/15/09 at 10:29 a.m.

Suggest removal

Re: bobojake
Another right-wing rant from the ideologically challenged. Who is this Rusty Humphries character? I was going to suggest bobojake get a life, until I remember that I listen/watch the opposite view on MSNBC. What a country we live in to allow such opposing viewpoint to exist! Go Rachel Maddow!
By bobojake

3/15/09 at 5:19 p.m.

Suggest removal

hey bluez1 the left wing marxist/comunist captured your democrat party and now want to rape your great grand children future taking FREEDOM, LIBERTY, and LIFE. Of course maybe bluez you are part of the marxist group and don't give a dang about you children or your childrens children future.
God Bless America not the america obama is trying to create.
By WinkeysMom

3/15/09 at 9:39 p.m.

Suggest removal

Great CARTOON, Chris Morris! Ride 'em pigley wiggley!!!!! Bring that bacon home! YEE HAW . . . dopes.
By Gregory

3/15/09 at 11:44 p.m.

Suggest removal

For those who want to complain about the performance of either Senator Reid or Senator Ensign in regard to "how much" is in the federal budget, or any federal stimulus plan, perhaps you should move to another state and pay higher taxes, so that your state of residence can afford to pony up more in state equity to obtain those matching funds.

A lot of people have moved to Nevada the past 18 years during the good times seeking the cream and butter, and some, not all, but some are looking for "something for nothing" in public sector financing, just as they go to the casino or nightclub looking for that "something for nothing" each week, instead of getting involved in the community in some way, or investing in coursework at CCSN or UNLV to raise their level of education and value in the job sector.

Maybe if they move back out, some of the person to person crime and riff raff will move out with them. Raising taxes in Nevada will insure some leave, as either they will be unhappy with this or face inability to pay, thus packing up their two outlet mall suitcases and miscellaneous plastic bags to load in a heavily financed, late model car with a small amount of money in the bank to their name. Don't forget things like the brand name watch, big knot tie, and the heels that go plop plop early in the morning coming home from a long night out.

Approximal states been relieved to lose a "part" of their citizen base to Southern Nevada the past few years.

With a better tax structure, and some economic diversity for new professional jobs, certainly in healthcare, high speed rail and energy solutions, Nevada will attract a more diverse population in future years, one willing to pay for quality of life issues.

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