A conservative group promoting limited government, the Club for Growth, has released its 2009 RePORK Card, which judges politicians’ voting records on 68 amendments designed to strip earmarks from 12 appropriations bills. Two members of the Kansas congressional delegation scored far above the others — and one had a perfect score.
The amendments ranged from attempting to strip a $1 million earmark for potato research in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, to a $100,000 earmark to fund a conference center in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“When given an opportunity to save taxpayer dollars and to limit spending to true national priorities, most members of Congress took a pass,” said Club Executive Director David Keating in the report. “The RePORK Card will help taxpayers measure the dedication of their representatives to changing the culture of corruption that surrounds pork-barrel spending.”
Second District Republican Rep. Lynn Jenkins was the only member of the Kansas delegation with a perfect score. Jenkins supported each of the 68 amendments utilized in the report. Jenkins was one of 22 members to receive a perfect score. Twenty-one of the 22 members to score a 100 percent were Republicans.
“Receiving a 100-percent rating from a fiscally conservative organization dedicated to reducing wasteful spending pretty much speaks for itself,” Jenkins told Kansas Liberty in an e-mail.
“Our nation’s 10-year deficit is set to reach $9.051 trillion and unemployment is nearing double-digits, but rather than putting the brakes on this out-of-control-spending spree, many politicians in Washington continue to plow ahead with a reckless agenda,” she said. “That’s why I recently introduced the Debt Accountability Act to require each member of Congress to vote to acknowledge how legislation will impact our nation’s debt. My legislation will bring accountability and transparency to the legislative process when our nation needs it the most.”
First District Republican Rep. Jerry Moran scored the second highest out of the Kansas delegation in the report with a 96 percent rating.
“Unlike some Republicans, Jerry will say no to the wasteful spending earmarks and other goodies being pushed by Speaker Pelosi and Democratic leadership,” Aaron Trost, Moran campaign manager, told Kansas Liberty. “The recent rating from Club for Growth demonstrates Jerry’s courage, conviction and conservative credentials, and it should come as no surprise that Jerry’s campaign has been endorsed by Sen. Tom Coburn — one of the leading voices against wasteful earmarks in the United States Senate.”
Fourth District Republican Rep. Todd Tiahrt scored a 29 percent in the report, supporting only 20 of the 68 amendments. Tiahrt is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
One of the 68 amendments used in the report was a motion by Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., which would have stopped 552 earmarks some House members requested totaling $550 million. This amendment failed with an 82-342 vote. Tiahrt and Moore voted against this measure, while Moran and Jenkins supported it.
“A vote in favor of the Flake Amendment was a vote to send pink slips to thousands of Kansas workers, effectively putting them in the unemployment line,” Sam Sackett, spokesperson for Tiahrt, told Kansas Liberty. “Had the Flake amendment passed, it would not have saved taxpayers a single dollar but would have instead put funding decisions straight into the hands of the Obama administration and Washington bureaucrats.”
Sackett said Tiahrt was working to promote the economy by fighting against stimulus projects instead of focusing on removing earmarks from bills.
“Unlike the Flake amendment that would not have reduced overall spending levels, Congressman Tiahrt offered several amendments in committee and repeal of the stimulus bill that would have reduced so-called stimulus spending by a quarter of a trillion dollars,” Sackett said. “The Tiahrt amendments represented actual reductions in federal spending – the Flake amendment simply traded Kansas jobs for the president’s favorite spending programs.”
Trost said he did not believe Kansas would have been affected by the earmark-stripping amendments.
“The overwhelming majority of these have nothing to do with Kansas but everything to do with pet projects for members of Congress,” Trost said. “An example of this is Speaker Pelosi’s earmark that seeks $2 million for the Fort Mason Center Pier 2 project, which is based in San Francisco. Jerry voted to remove that earmark and Congressman Tiahrt voted to keep that earmark.”
Third District Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore scored a 0 percent. Moore’s office did not return Kansas Liberty’s request for comment. Moore was one of 211 members to receive a 0 percent score. All except nine of the House members who scored a 0 were Democrats.
