David Obey: “I just want to get a few things off my chest with regard to this earmarking issue. I know that policy questions are…”

“I just want to get a few things off my chest with regard to this earmarking issue. I know that policy questions are complicated, and I know that budget questions are complicated. I recognize, therefore, that substantial members of the press and some Members of the Congress as well in both bodies seek to find other more simple issues which are small enough to get their mind around. And so we have spent a good amount of time the last 3 weeks talking about earmarks. I want to put some things in perspective about earmarks. In the Financial Services bill, out of all of the money provided in that bill, 1.5 percent was devoted to earmarks. In Interior, 0.43 percent of all the money appropriated was provided for earmarks. In Transportation, 1.4 percent of the entire bill was allocated through earmarks. And in this bill, it is slightly less than 0.20. That is a very tiny portion of the overall bill. The executive branch allocates or directs spending at least 10 times as great as does the Congress and I don't see or hear much squawking about that. I just want to suggest this: I don't happen to be comfortable with the earmarking system because it is a pain in the neck to me, it takes an incredible amount of time, and I would much rather spend that time on policy. But the fact is that it is a constitutional prerogative of the Congress to do so. And I would submit it creates a much more fair system.”