December 7, 2010

Earmarks have become a dirty word in Washington. They’re the pots of federal money that members of Congress direct to projects in their district, often transportation and defense work. The process is currently frowned upon by so many, that Republicans are leading a charge to do away with the practice. WUWM’s LaToya Dennis learned that Wisconsin is low on the list when it comes to receiving earmarks, and there’s disagreement over whether they’re problematic. The federal government is facing a budget deficit of around $1.3 trillion dollars. To help reign in government spending, Republicans, including Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, have proposed doing away with pork barrel spending, also known as earmarks. They’ve totaled $16 billion this year. During a recent interview on MSBC, Ryan said that while earmarks make up only a small portion of the overall budget, the GOP understands they’re symptomatic of excessive government spending.

“These guys are serious about it so they get the deal, they get the message. As Tom Coburn said the earmarks are the gateway drug to big spending, and we’ve got to deal with this deal. If we can’t take on the real deficit problems without doing earmarks, I mean come on,” Ryan says.