Expand the ban on NGO earmarks

OPINION:

Radical pressure groups are agitating for a return of congressional earmarks for “nonprofit” organizations. This was in response to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, Oklahoma Republican, who announced last month that members would no longer be allowed to secure pork for nongovernmental organizations in their districts.

Representatives use earmarks to create expensive projects as tangible proof they’re getting things done in Washington for their constituents. This abuse of the public purse is a major reason why incumbents win reelection 94.5% of the time. 

Republicans ought to have outlawed all forms of earmarking, but it’s hard to see how that’s possible while operating with a bare majority. Well intentioned as they may have been, Republicans such as Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia dramatically weakened the GOP leadership’s position by forcing the speaker to cut deals with moderates and Democrats.

And Democrats are simply better at using earmarks to advance their agenda and dish out rewards to political allies. Earmarks ensure groups that aren’t funded by the administration’s budgetary discretion can still enjoy the pile of cash sent their way by individual member designation.

This fuels the left-wing “nonprofit” groups that serve as foot soldiers of the Democratic Party. It’s also why LGBTQ groups are agitating to lift the new NGO funding ban, arguing that its only purpose is to deny essential funding for valuable organizations. You know, the ones that put on drag shows and promote child mutilation.

Earmarks remain a major drag on the federal budget. The most recent “Pig Book” from Citizens Against Government Waste calculated the impact of nearly 7,400 earmarks at $36.1 billion.

Among the set-asides were $11 million for taking away space on the road for cars to build bike paths that will be used exclusively by a handful of wealthy, liberal White men — the primary demographic of bicycle commuters — eager to signal their virtue at taxpayer expense.

Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts secured $3 million for local aquariums that are sitting on $107 million in assets, according to Citizens Against Government Waste. All of these nonpolitical earmarks will continue.

Congress also dispatched over $1 billion in earmarks to universities around the country, according to Inside Higher Ed. Both Republicans and Democrats share a fascination with shoveling money at these left-leaning institutions despite their massive endowments.

Why, for example, send $6 million in taxpayer funds to the University of California to investigate “Offshore Pollution Impacts on Living Marine Resources and Bioremediation Assessment of DDT” when the UC System has $169 billion in its treasure chest? Why should taxpayers give UC San Francisco $500,000 to buy all-electric shuttle buses? The answer is, it boosts the reelection prospects of Sen. Alex Padilla, California Democrat.

The national debt is nearing $34.6 trillion, and consumers are battling rising inflation and interest rates. At some point, politicians in Washington need to learn restraint. The ban on NGO earmarks is a good start, but it ought to be expanded into a complete ban should voters entrust the GOP with a more stable majority.