Durbin Votes for Earmarks

by Kristina Rasmussen Illinois Senator Dick Durbin help to vote down a proposed Senate ban on earmarks today, reports The Hill. As if tea pot museums and bridges to nowhere weren’t enough, Illinoisans had yet another reason to oppose Congressional earmarks. According to a new Cato Institute study by Brandon Arnold, Illinois is an “earmark donor state”—one that receives...

by Kristina Rasmussen

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin help to vote down a proposed Senate ban on earmarks today, reports The Hill.

As if tea pot museums and bridges to nowhere weren’t enough, Illinoisans had yet another reason to oppose Congressional earmarks. According to a new Cato Institute study by Brandon Arnold, Illinois is an “earmark donor state”—one that receives a smaller share of earmark funding than our proportionate burden of total federal tax collections.

Illinois receives 1.3 percent of the earmark dollars even though we’re sending in 5 percent of the taxes. Compare this to Mississippi, which sends in 0.4 percent of the taxes yet receives 4.5 percent of the earmark dollars. The next time your local Congressman touts his latest pork project, keep in mind all of the questionable earmarks you’re subsidizing elsewhere.

The answer to this discrepancy isn’t to spread more money around via the favor factory; rather, federal dollars should be allocated on a merit basis through transparent funding formulas. Better yet, local projects should be funded locally—that way we can be sure our money is helping our communities.

Should you disagree with Senator Durbin’s vote in favor of pork, you can let him know by calling his Chicago office ((312) 353-4952) or his Springfield office ((217) 492-4062).