Fields
03-28-2008, 02:41 PM
What are your thoughts?
Dear Mr. Fields:
Thank you for writing to me about congressional earmarks. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.
Under Article I of the Constitution, Congress is given the responsibility for the appropriation of Federal spending. Last year, Congress instituted a number of reforms in the appropriations process, including a significant reduction in the number of earmarks. As Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee, I am pleased that these new rules have added greater transparency to the legislative process. These reforms require that all earmarks be disclosed, along with the name of the Member of Congress who sponsored them, and that the information be posted publicly on the Internet for at least 48 hours before consideration on the Senate floor.
However, earmarks play an important role in ensuring that critical local projects and innovative demonstration programs receive the funding they merit. Mayors and County Supervisors come to me to ask for assistance in securing federal funding for law enforcement equipment, highways, mass transit projects, flood protection and other infrastructure improvements, many of which are not priorities of the President. California is also a donor state, sending more money to the Federal Treasury than it receives back in payments and services. One of the steps that I and other Members of Congress from California can take to decrease this gap is earmark funding.
I was elected to the Senate by the people of California to represent their best interests. It is also my duty to see that the dollars Californians pay in taxes are used responsibly and on projects and programs from which they benefit. I believe that the earmarking process, with these new reforms and transparency, continues to serve these purposes.
Again, thank you for writing. Please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind as I continue to see that federal funding is spent wisely and properly. If you have any further questions or comments, please contact my office in Washington, D.C. at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.
Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
Dear Mr. Fields:
Thank you for writing to me about congressional earmarks. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.
Under Article I of the Constitution, Congress is given the responsibility for the appropriation of Federal spending. Last year, Congress instituted a number of reforms in the appropriations process, including a significant reduction in the number of earmarks. As Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee, I am pleased that these new rules have added greater transparency to the legislative process. These reforms require that all earmarks be disclosed, along with the name of the Member of Congress who sponsored them, and that the information be posted publicly on the Internet for at least 48 hours before consideration on the Senate floor.
However, earmarks play an important role in ensuring that critical local projects and innovative demonstration programs receive the funding they merit. Mayors and County Supervisors come to me to ask for assistance in securing federal funding for law enforcement equipment, highways, mass transit projects, flood protection and other infrastructure improvements, many of which are not priorities of the President. California is also a donor state, sending more money to the Federal Treasury than it receives back in payments and services. One of the steps that I and other Members of Congress from California can take to decrease this gap is earmark funding.
I was elected to the Senate by the people of California to represent their best interests. It is also my duty to see that the dollars Californians pay in taxes are used responsibly and on projects and programs from which they benefit. I believe that the earmarking process, with these new reforms and transparency, continues to serve these purposes.
Again, thank you for writing. Please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind as I continue to see that federal funding is spent wisely and properly. If you have any further questions or comments, please contact my office in Washington, D.C. at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.
Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator