On the recordFebruary 1, 2012
today I understand Senator Toomey is going to be offering an amendment that will--it is quite an oversimplification to state it this way, but it would make permanent the temporary ban on earmarks. I think this is something we have talked about and talked about and talked about on this floor. In fact, the last time we talked about an amendment to put a moratorium on earmarks, my conservative rating of No. 1 in the U.S. Senate moved to No. 20 because I was telling the truth and not demagoguing an issue. The problem we have is this: When the House of Representatives, first of all, came up some time ago--2 years ago--with doing away with earmarks, putting a moratorium on earmarks, then they defined what that moratorium was and defined an earmark in a certain House rule. The bottom line is this: It said it is any kind of an appropriation or authorization. Now, here is where the problem is. Because everybody is upset with the process that has taken place by Democrats and Republicans on the floor of this Senate--and I will not name names, but I think most of the Members know the ones I am talking about. Many of them are members of the Appropriations Committee, where they would sit down during the course of an appropriations bill, and they would swap out deals, favors, and get things for their State. This is the type of thing that is wrong, and it should not take place. But I have to remind my friends here that we have a Constitution for this country.…
