WHEN IT COMES TO IMPEACHING BUSH AND CHENEY,
STENY HOYER IS AN OBSTRUCTIONIST….
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO COLLECTING
AND DOLING OUT MONEY;
HOYER BECOMES A
FIRST CLASS
HYPOCRITE!
Do These People Even Pay For Their Own Cup Of Coffee At Starbucks?
Hoyer Is Proof of Earmarks' Endurance
Md. Democrat's Campaign Donors Among Grantees
By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, December 10, 2007; Page A01
Even as House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer has joined in steps to clean up pork-barrel spending, the Maryland congressman has tucked $96 million worth of pet projects into next year's federal budget, including $450,000 for a campaign donor's foundation.
Hoyer (D) is one of the top 10 earmarkers in the House for 2008, based on budget requests in bills so far, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, an independent watchdog group.
Earmarks are spending items inserted into bills to benefit designated companies or projects, often in the sponsoring lawmaker's district. They make up a small percentage of the federal budget. But because the grants often aren't subject to competitive bidding or much scrutiny, they can go to projects that are wasteful or reward campaign contributors, watchdog groups say.
Congressional leaders obtain a disproportionate share of approved earmarks, showing "these decisions are based on political muscle rather than project merit," said Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Hoyer defends his earmarks, saying they fund such worthy causes as cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and supporting local military bases. For 2008, he has requested millions of dollars to equip police in his district, help schools and improve roads and the Southern Maryland bus network. His $96 million in earmarks includes projects he sponsored alone and with other legislators, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Republicans had come under fire as earmarks tripled during their 12 years of congressional control, to nearly 13,000 in 2006. Some projects, such as a $223 million bridge to a sparsely populated Alaskan island -- dubbed a "bridge to nowhere" -- stirred public ridicule.
Since assuming control of Congress, Democrats have taken some important steps to clean up the practice, watchdog groups say. Lawmakers are now required to disclose their earmarks. And House and Senate leaders have agreed to cut earmark spending by 40 percent in the 2008 budget bills, most of which are being wrapped into a giant package to be presented this week.
"We made very substantial progress in making sure that earmarks, which I support, are transparent," Hoyer said in an interview.
And yet, pet projects can still be slipped into bills with little scrutiny.
Consider the $450,000 that Hoyer inserted into a 2008 education spending bill for the California-based InTune Foundation Group, whose Web site describes it as a music-education nonprofit group.
In 2005, InTune got a previous earmark for nearly $500,000 to develop lesson plans on funk music and Nobel Peace laureates. Asked recently how effective that program had been, Education Department officials said they didn't know. InTune hadn't turned in a report on what it did, officials said.
"It is significantly past due," department spokeswoman Rebecca Neale said, noting that the deadline was September 2006. She said that the department had tried to reach InTune but that its old telephone and e-mail were out of service and there was no contact information on its Web site.
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http://republicanleader.house.gov/brokenpromises/p_transparency.html
DEMOCRATS’ PROMISES: TRANSPARENCY IN SPENDING TAXPAYER DOLLARS
DEMOCRATIC PROMISE #65: “Get Rid of All” Earmarks
Steny Hoyer For Vice President!
If Hillary Clinton can run on the Pork ticket, Steny Hoyer makes a fine running mate. The Washington Post reports that Hoyer made the Top Ten Porkers List for 2008, based on an analysis of funding requests pending for next year's budget. And, like Hillary, Hoyer does not forget his contributors when it comes to spreading out the taxpayer dollars:
Even as House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer has joined in steps to clean up pork-barrel spending, the Maryland congressman has tucked $96 million worth of pet projects into next year's federal budget, including $450,000 for a campaign donor's foundation.
Hoyer (D) is one of the top 10 earmarkers in the House for 2008, based on budget requests in bills so far, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, an independent watchdog group. ...
Consider the $450,000 that Hoyer inserted into a 2008 education spending bill for the California-based InTune Foundation Group, whose Web site describes it as a music-education nonprofit group.
In 2005, InTune got a previous earmark for nearly $500,000 to develop lesson plans on funk music and Nobel Peace laureates. Asked recently how effective that program had been, Education Department officials said they didn't know. InTune hadn't turned in a report on what it did, officials said.
InTune shows why politicians have become so out of tune with the taxpayers. In what universe does "lesson plans on funk music and Nobel Peace laureates" fall under federal jurisdiction? Don't get me wrong; I like Parliament's "Flash Light" just as much as the next guy, but I don't think it's the job of Uncle Sam to teach people how to play it.
Hoyer coughed up a half-million dollars for some funky music, but the recipient never bothered to fulfill its reporting requirements. No problem! Hoyer will give them another half-million dollars to fix their compliance issues. When it comes to earmarks, good money always follows bad, and everything goes down a drain. At least InTune can provide some good music for corruption accompaniment.
Of course, the $31,000 that came to Hoyer from InTune executives and their families has no impact on Hoyer's largesse. I know this, because Hoyer said so. He tells the Post that he's been giving hundreds of thousands of federal monies to InTune because -- I'm not making this up -- he supports the music industry. Isn't the music industry a multi-billion-dollar enterprise? Couldn't they teach someone to play the George Clinton catalog themselves? Maybe someone should just get Hoyer an iTunes subscription rather than an InTune contribution. It would save everyone a lot of money.
InTune isn't alone in Hoyer's thoughts, either. ManTech got over $2 million in earmarks after executives and employees of its parent donated $12,100 to Hoyer for the 2006 election. It made them one of the biggest blocs of contributors in Hoyer's campaign. Of course, that's a coincidence as well, Hoyer insists. He's just a big fan of .... of ..... whatever ManTech produces.
Given Hillary's pork propensity, it looks like we have the ideal running mate for her in Steny Hoyer. The administration which follows theirs will have an opportunity to completely refurnish the White House after they auction off the interior.
The Dems' Uninspiring Record on Earmarks
To continue our trend of Democrats playing the Washington game instead of standing for what's right:
Even as House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer has joined in steps to clean up pork-barrel spending, the Maryland congressman has tucked $96 million worth of pet projects into next year's federal budget, including $450,000 for a campaign donor's foundation.
Hoyer (D) is one of the top 10 earmarkers in the House for 2008, based on budget requests in bills so far, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, an independent watchdog group.
The Post article from which this comes does not identify the other nine lawmakers in the top 10, and the Taxpayers for Common Sense website doesn't have the list either. So it could be all Republicans, who knows? But I'm guessing it isn't.
Hoyer is a good example of how there isn't a consensus on earmarks among Democrats. When they took power in 2006, they weren't all gripped by a zeal to cleanse Washington of money's corrupting power.
Hoyer defends his earmarks, saying they fund such worthy causes as cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and supporting local military bases. For 2008, he has requested millions of dollars to equip police in his district, help schools and improve roads and the Southern Maryland bus network... "We made very substantial progress in making sure that earmarks, which I support, are transparent," Hoyer said in an interview.
That's what Hoyer supports—incremental change. Don't eliminate earmarks, just shine a little light on them. Oh, and reduce their numbers somewhat.
Republicans had come under fire as earmarks tripled during their 12 years of congressional control, to nearly 13,000 in 2006. Some projects, such as a $223 million bridge to a sparsely populated Alaskan island -- dubbed a "bridge to nowhere" -- stirred public ridicule.
Since assuming control of Congress, Democrats have taken some important steps to clean up the practice, watchdog groups say. Lawmakers are now required to disclose their earmarks. And House and Senate leaders have agreed to cut earmark spending by 40 percent in the 2008 budget bills.
Better than the last guy, but still not good enough.
A Big Spender
Here are the 10 biggest earmarks that House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) sponsored in 2008 congressional spending bills, either solo or in conjuction with other legislators, according to figures from Taxpayers for Common Sense:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/12/10/GR2007121000075.html
Rep. Hoyer (D-MD) has Defense earmarks totalling $27,000,000
For this appropriations bill, Rep. Hoyer (D-MD) ranks in the 94th percentile.
Rep. Hoyer (D-MD) has Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education earmarks totalling $17,291,000
For this appropriations bill, Rep. Hoyer (D-MD) ranks in the 96th percentile.
Insanely Useful Web Sites
Campaign contributionsThe following is drawn from government records of campaign contributions to Steny Hoyer. Campaign contributions are one of the most direct conduits for influencing members of Congress. How to use this information.
Source: Federal Election Commission
Top Contributors to Steny H. Hoyer (D) During the 2006 Election Cycle
Rank
Donor
Amount (US Dollars)
1
JP Morgan Chase & Co
$ 29,500
2
Northrop Grumman
$ 16,600
3
Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
$ 15,300
4
DaVita Inc
$ 12,100
4
Mantech International
$ 12,100
Source: The Center for Responsive Politics' http://opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?cid=N00001821&cycle=2006 site.Note: Contributions are not from the organizations themselves, but are rather from the organization's PAC, employees or owners. Totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.
Links to more campaign contribution information for Steny Hoyerfrom the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile:
2006 election cycle
Career totals
Revolving door
The "revolving door" refers to the passage of staffers between government and industry employment. Former staff for members of Congress often use the connections and knowledge they gained as public employees to help their new employers – often lobbying firms – influence their former employers and institutions.
Revolving door profile for Steny Hoyer from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
Privately funded travel
The following is drawn from Steny Hoyer's travel disclosure forms. Corporations and other organizations can pay for trips by members of Congress and their staff as long as it is related to official business (though some trips have been glorified junkets). How to use this information.
2006 privately funded travel profile for Steny Hoyer from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
Personal finances
The following is drawn from Steny Hoyer's personal financial disclosure forms. Close study of the data has often revealed conflicts of interest by members of Congress. How to use this information.
2005 personal finance profile for Steny Hoyer from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
Who Gets; Who Takes; Who Is On The Take: THE HOYER HOG REPORT:
Read It All Here. He’s Got To Go, Or Get Out Of Our Way!
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