Barack Obama Campaign Promise No. 512: Go "line by line" over earmarks to make sure money being spent wisely "And, absolutely, we need earmark reform. And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely."
Source: http://www.politifact.com/
While CNN & PolitiFact claim to be "checking facts" and "analyzing Obama campaign promises", they have have left out some very important facts:
1.) According to the OMB the FY 2008 budget included 11,524 earmarks (a conservative government estimate).
The FY2009 Omnibus budget President Obama plans to sign shortly includes nearly 3,000 fewer Earmarks then in FY2008.
2.) President Obama has promised to, "go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely." He never promised to "completely eliminate Earmarks" not signing this budget before the deadline could mean a government shutdown.
3.) The number of Earmarks by party lines is almost split down the middle this is not a partisan issue as both Democrats and Republicans in congress believe it is their right to have Earmarks in appropriations bills.
They are reporting that Earmarks = Waste, when in fact some earmarks can be wasteful or worthy.
These appropriations bills have snaked their way through the 110th and now 111th Congress over the course of the last year and the last few months.
Lawmakers crafting the FY2009 Omnibus bill were (as some of them are no longer in office) and are keenly aware of President Obama's views towards the wasteful kind of earmarks in appropriations.
They have appropriately reduced this waste.
The president has in fact has directly encouraged a reduction of waste" he has not eliminated it nor did he promised to. The title misrepresents that Obama will go line by line through earmarks. He has promised to go "line by line" through the entire budget.
Given the facts the conclusion that Obama has "Compromised" is disingenuous and incorrect. This is not his budget.
The questions you should be asking are:
A) Who is asking for Earmarks?
B) What programs or projects do these Earmarks direct funding to?
C) Are these "Earmarked" programs or projects waste or worthy of Federal funding?
Report the News without an angle. You fail to report the enormous progress that has already been made in the form of Transparency and open dialogue.
You are seeking instant solutions and holding the President to an imaginary standard of perfection. We don't live in an imaginary Utopia.
On the issue of Campaign promises, in a Democracy compromise is how things get done. Otherwise instead of three co-equal branches of government we would have One branch where the King makes all of the decisions. In a Dictatorship the King has absolute say; you could hold him to this PolitiFact standard but not in a Republic.
My Sources:
"In fiscal year 2008, there were 11,524 earmarks totaling $16,501,833,000 for appropriations accounts."
Source:Office of Management and Budgets, http://www.earmarks.omb.gov
Rep. Paul Ryan (R) Wisconsin "We've got 9,000 Earmarks the house passed last week, $7.7 Billion dollars, 4,000 of those Earmarks are from Republicans, so its not as if one party is doing this well and the other party is not."
Source: Public statements, reported on during live CNN broadcast March 2009
'Senator Graham was asked about earmarks. He states that earmarks are not the problem it is that they are slipped in at the last minute and are almost unidentifiable of which legislature asked for the Earmark. Senator Graham said that he is for earmarks but it should be done in the day light and ones name should be attached to the earmark.'
Source:Live Blogging Senator Lindsey Graham & Bob Conley's Debate from ETV in Columbia, SC by politisite | October 11, 2008 at 03:46 pm
Barack Obama Campaign Promise No. 512: Go "line by line" over earmarks to make sure money being spent wisely "And, absolutely, we need earmark reform. And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely."
Source: http://www.politifact.com/
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