Republican Ensign Secures Million Dollar Earmark for Health Reform he Opposed
Just more of what i have been talking about. Say
one thing in public and do something else in private.
John Ensign Secured Earmark Nearing $1 Million From Health Care Reform He Opposed
Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) reportedly successfully petitioned the Obama administration for a grant of almost $1 million in the wake of the passage of a health care reform package that the Nevada Republican vehemently opposed and has since vowed to repeal.
According to an examination of the request by ThinkProgress:
Over the summer, Ensign sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius requesting grant money authorized by the law for the University of Nevada School of Medicine for "Primary Care Residency Expansion." This grant program is one of many included in the health law to increase the number of doctors in America. In the letter, Ensign explained that "Nevada continues to have an extremely low number of physicians per capita," and that the grant would help alleviate the "growing challenges Nevada continues to face with providing access to much-needed health care."
In late 2009, Ensign expressed grave concern that "the Democrats' health reform bill violates the Constitution of the United States of America." He also sharply criticized the bill's individual mandate, saying, "I don't believe Congress has the legal or moral authority to force this mandate on its citizens." Still, the Silver State senator admitted that Guantanamo Bay detainees "get better health care than the average American citizen does."
Ensign, who is fielding fresh concern that his personal scandals could make him a prime target for unseating and is, as a result, reportedly being eyed as a potential target by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, seems to have been actively seeking to renew his conservative credentials over the past few weeks.
Despite doing his own fair share of earmarking, Ensign recently joined Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and other Republican senators in an effort to enact a ban on the federal carve-outs.
Earlier in November, Ensign elaborated on his wavering stance against earmarks. "Nevada gets shortchanged when it comes to federal dollars returning to our state," Ensign said. "But we are facing very difficult economic times that require difficult decisions to be made back in Washington. Reducing government spending across the board is one of the difficult things that has to be done, and this includes earmark requests."
McConnell Backs Earmark Reform AFTER Requesting 1 BILLION in PORK
1 BILLION! You cant make this stuff up. Cant you see the OUTRAGE
from S&L over all this? LMFAO.
Mitch McConnell Backs Earmark Ban After Requesting Nearly $1 BILLION In Pork
AP/The Huffington Post First Posted: 11-15-10 02:56 PM | Updated: 11-15-10 05:04 PM
The top Republican in the Senate has reversed course and endorsed a moratorium on pork-barrel projects known as "earmarks." Those are special funding requests lawmakers slip into legislation for home-state projects.
Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell says he's heeding the message voters sent in elections that swept Democrats from power in the House. He says he can't accuse Democrats of failing to ignore the wishes of the American people and then be guilty of the same thing.
McConnell's move gives tea party activists a win and heads off a battle with conservatives in his own party in the Senate. House GOP leaders had already endorsed a ban on the practice.
McConnell, a member of the Appropriations Committee, is a longtime defender of earmarking. The Kentucky Republican has requested 158 solo earmarks amounting to a cost of $927,872,000 over the past two years, according to data provided by LegiStorm.
During a recent appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," McConnell expressed doubt over the ability of an earmark ban to advance spending reduction initiatives.
"The problem is, it doesn't save any money," explained the explained the Senate leader. "What we really need to do is to concentrate on reducing spending and reducing debt. And this debate doesn't save any money, which is why it is kind of exasperating to some of us who really want to cut spending."
President Obama released a statement on Monday praising McConnell's support:
I welcome Senator McConnell's decision to join me and members of both parties who support cracking down on wasteful earmark spending, which we can't afford during these tough economic times. As a Senator, I helped eliminate anonymous earmarks, and as President, I've called for new limitations on earmarks and set new, higher standards of transparency and accountability. But we can't stop with earmarks as they represent only part of the problem. In the days and weeks to come, I look forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to not only end earmark spending, but to find other ways to bring down our deficits for our children.
