Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today claimed victory with the passage of S. Amdt. 11 to the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 (S. 1).  Sponsored by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), the amendment broadens the definition of “earmark” to include projects in report language and those for federal agencies, which together account for 95 percent of earmarks.  The original language in S. 1 only covered 5 percent of earmarks.

“Sen. DeMint’s amendment is crucial to improving accountability and transparency.  New disclosure rules are pointless if the definition of ‘earmark’ is too narrow,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz. 

Last week, the Senate rejected Majority Whip Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) motion to table, or kill, the DeMint amendment by a vote of 46-51, a significant defeat for the Senate Democratic leadership.  Ten Democrats voted for the amendment.  Then, in a highly unusual move, unanimous consent to pass the amendment was blocked.  Words flew back and forth between DeMint and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) when senators returned to the floor for a roll call.

Sen. DeMint based his definition of earmark on the House rules changes recently passed under Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).  But Reid criticized the House language, saying the House rule was rushed through and the Senate was more deliberative about its definition – a less than credible comment given that each body of Congress has been back in session for an equal number of days.  Sen. DeMint also noted the Democrats were stalling the final vote with repeated quorum calls, comparing it to the strong-armed tactics Republicans in the House used to pass the prescription drug bill in 2003.  At that time, Democrats criticized such tactics and claimed they would not use them.

After being unable to turn the vote around and hearing from bloggers, CCAGW members, and other taxpayer groups, Sen. Reid reached out to Sen. DeMint to craft a compromise.  The amendment now includes a requirement that a list of earmarks be posted on the Internet 48 hours prior to a vote and that more targeted tax provisions be subject to disclosure.

“The Senate has demonstrated its willingness to correct some of the flaws in the original bill.  We encourage them to now add language that will limit the number and cost of earmarks,” Schatz concluded. 

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.