Earmark spending should be disclosed to the public

In the Jan. 12 article “Cardinals say ban on earmarks is not forever” one earmark reform proposal is missing from your coverage, where you paraphrase Rep. Mike Simpson as saying “it is hard to see what new reforms will work.”

The Earmark Transparency Act, introduced separately in the House and Senate last year, would create meaningful disclosure of earmark information, which is, as of now, still far too difficult to track and analyze in both chambers of Congress.  The disclosure forms and online postings that Rep. Simpson mentions offer only a scattered glimpse into earmark spending, which should be disclosed through the centralized, standardized online database that the Earmark Transparency Act would create.

That is why President Obama called for a congressional earmark database in last year’s State of the Union address, and that is also why Sens. Coburn, Gillibrand and McCain, and Reps. Cassidy and Speier (among others) have emerged as leaders in creating a central database for earmarks.

Washington

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