Billy Long Learning Quickly Earmarks Are About Power and Reelection

Earmarks about about power. In many ways, while I support earmark appropriations that meet the requirements of the enumerated powers listed in Article One Section Eight of the Constitution, I understand how quickly earmarks can be abused even within those limits to purchase votes in the next election for members of Congress. Congressman Billy Long does too.

In less than three whole months in Congress, Billy Long, who ran on a no earmark pledge, appears to be reconsidering his battle against earmarks. I have no doubt the promise of votes in 2012 and Billy Long keeping his job is driving this change in philosophy for Mr. Long.

I have found two good Congressional level definitions of earmarks. The first:

Funds that individual senators or representatives specify be directed to projects and activities that will benefit particular people, institutions or locations in their home constituencies.

And the Second comes from the official House rules.

A provision or report language included primarily at the request of a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or Senator providing, authorizing or recommending a specific amount of discretionary budget authority, credit authority, or other spending authority for a contract, loan, loan guarantee, grant, loan authority, or other expenditure with or to an entity, or targeted to a specific State, locality or congressional district, other than through a statutory or administrative formula driven or competitive award process.

Did you notice a keyword in the House rules definition? "GRANT."

Why is the word grant important? Because Congressman Long's office as been busy using the word grant to describe things Long is now going to do for the district after taking and running on a no-earmark pledge. Take for instance this story from the Springfield News-Leader a few days ago.

Representatives from the Greene County Commission, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt's office, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill's office, U.S. Rep. Billy Long's office and the Springfield-Greene County office of Emergency Management have now joined officials at Drury in seeking the grant.

Then the word grant comes up again in the News-Leader a few days later to describe local projects that Long sounds willing to support.

Commissioners spent a few days in Washington D.C. two weeks ago meeting legislators, then met with local representatives' staffers last week to talk about the county's biggest needs -- and how federal funding could play a part in the years ahead.

"It looks like now and for the foreseeable future, the help we see from Washington will be grants," said Commissioner Harold Bengsch, during a Tuesday meeting with Rep. Billy Long's staffers in Springfield.

Some projects they hope could be funded through grants. Others they hope just don't get cut.

"As those cuts are being made, we want to make sure the congressman is aware of what those programs do ... when he makes those decisions," said Royce Reding, one of Long's field representatives.

Grants Mr. Long? You mean the same type of grants that help define earmarks in the House rules--the same earmarks you opposed to acquire support from the Tea Party during the election?



The bottom line here is Billy Long is set to break his no-earmarks promise. He is using the word "grant" over the more unpopular "earmark." No matter what word you use to describe a duck, in the end it is still a duck even though you might called it a water foul or a quacker. A grant is Billy Long's way of saying he has learned in Washington, for him to keep his job, he understands earmarks create political power that gets you reelected. He is just hoping the Tea Party crowd doesn't figure out his play on words.