On the recordNovember 30, 2010
Senator Coburn has proposed an amendment to the badly needed food safety legislation now before the Senate that seeks to end congressionally directed spending, or earmarks. Senator Coburn described his amendment as an attempt to get spending under control, but it fails the test of accomplishing that goal and fails to meet Congress's constitutional obligation to exercise the power of the purse. Article I, section 9 of the Constitution of the United States places the power of Federal spending in the Congress, the branch of government most directly connected to the people. The power of the purse is great, and therefore accountability for the exercise of that power should be great as well. Our greater responsiveness in Congress to immediate public needs is essential. If the Coburn amendment passes, we would be barred from bringing that judgment to bear on some of the most pressing issues of the day. Instead, the executive branch--which is, in practice, the most bureaucratic and least responsive branch--would control these decisions. For example, under Senator Coburn's proposal, only the executive branch would have the power to initiate funding for disaster relief. Measures to appropriate funds in response to disasters would be prohibited because they would dedicate funding to specific locations. So, had this measure been in place when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Congress would have been powerless to react.
