Even though Congress states there is a moratorium on earmarks, there is nothing on paper saying they can’t get them. Report as we say but don’t report as we do – PB/TK
Government Watchdog Group Growing Impatient On Earmarks – By John Hines / June 1 2017
House Speaker Paul Ryan often tells reporters and others that the House has a moratorium on earmarks. But what he doesn’t say is that the house has not so far in the new congress voted to officially ban the practice, as it has in the past. Now some conservatives are growing impatient.
“There currently is no written earmark moratorium for House of Representatives for fiscal 2018 appropriations bills. So as Members of Congress are considering these bills, there may be earmarks because there is no rule against it at this point,” says Tom Schatz, President, Citizens Against Government Waste. “In the meantime in the Senate, Senate Republicans have unanimously agreed to extend the earmark moratorium while the House is just trying to figure out whether they should extend it and whether they should agree to some exceptions.”
So the House hasn’t officially banned earmarks–even though House leaders say there’s a moratorium according to Citizens Against Government Waste President Tom Schatz who adds that this is a change from past practice.
“Last November when the House was considering rules for the 115th Congress, they have traditionally–almost automatically– renewed the moratorium that was imposed after the 2010 elections,” says Schatz. “In November of 2016, just ten days after the ‘Drain the Swamp’ election, the Republican Conference entertained the idea of changing the earmark moratorium. Speaker Paul Ryan said ‘no, we’re not doing this right now,’” Schatz adds.
But ‘not doing it right now’ may not have meant ‘not later on’ says Schatz, who thinks the earmark question could be on the table soon in the House.
Continue to oann.com article: http://www.oann.com/government-watchdog-group-growing-impatient-on-earmarks/
