Leading By Example
By Congressman Jason Chaffetz
When it comes to earmark reform, we have to do more than just talk about it. I’m actually doing something about it.
I recently adopted a set of guidelines that my office will use to distinguish legitimate federal spending projects from abusive earmarks. In response, the Tribune Editorial Board (Kosher Pork, 10/7/09) recommended, “Chaffetz should get off his high horse, throw out his self-imposed rule book and play the game.”
No thanks. I was elected to lead, not to follow. You lead by example – not by playing the game. Early in my campaign I promised to address the abusive use of earmarks. I am doing exactly what I said I would do. Raising the bar is something that should be applauded by the editorial board, not condemned. While they advocate that we gravitate to the lowest common denominator, I suggest that it’s just that kind of prevailing attitude that has pushed us into a $12 trillion debt.
I promised voters in 2008 that I would address earmark abuse through openness, transparency and reform. I also pledged that I would not ask for an earmark in 2009. I kept both of those promises. The Tribune editorial contained a number of factual errors that need to be corrected.
The Tribune’s assertions that my reform efforts are somehow a flip flop of my previous position are pure fiction. At the May 2008 Republican State Convention, I told voters, “I won’t even ask for an earmark until we have earmark reform.” That reform begins in my own office.
Furthermore, the notion that my support of legitimate projects is new or is an attempt to appease mayors is also false. Even before the primary election, I wrote "I unequivocally oppose the abusive use of earmarks. I will not ask for an earmark until this process is changed. I will seek funding through the normal appropriation process.” (Deseret News candidate questionnaire, 6/21/08). That is exactly what I have done.
The Tribune asserted, “Chaffetz entered office with a hard and fast rule: No budget earmarks, aka pork, period. And he was elected on a platform that included that promise.”
That is blatantly false. On April 24, 2008, I pledged to reform earmarks. In a press release titled Chaffetz Pledges Earmark Reform, I wrote, “Earmark reform is a critical component to reforming Washington and fixing the mismanaged appropriations process. If I am fortunate enough to win, I will join other fiscal conservatives in the fight to fix this broken system.” My hard and fast rule was to reform the process. Had I not sought earmark reform, I would have been in violation of the pledge I signed.
My recent adoption of guidelines is the fulfillment of a campaign promise – not the violation of one. We are always going to lead on principle. We will not just go along to get along because everyone else is doing it. That’s not what I was elected to do.
We can’t be all things to all people. I am highly critical of certain earmarks that come to our state. Some benefit private companies while others should rightly be funded at the local level. I will not advocate spending federal money on local projects with no federal nexus.
I’m terribly disappointed in both Democrats AND Republicans who refuse to address this issue. But unlike the Tribune, I refuse to believe earmark reform is a lost cause. It’s time for us to lead by example. The suggestion that no one follow higher standards until everyone does is unacceptable. Voters need to know that abusing the earmark process is a choice – not a requirement.
