Rep. Jeff Flake (AZ) has been arguably the biggest crusader of earmark reform from the start. His long battle turned victorious this year when House and Senate Republicans unanimously voted to uphold an earmark ban for the 112th Congress. Though Democrats weren't as keen on the idea, it was still symbolic of the coming change in a new Republican majority.
Flake has long promoted his "egregious earmark of the week" -- selecting one outrageous earmark to highlight the wasteful spending in Congress. He's been bipartisan in his criticism and today at the Heritage Foundation's "Bloggers Briefing" said he often went to the House floor to argue against earmarks without knowing who represented it. Flake said he was often surprised by which Member of Congress came to defend some of the earmarks.
This week, the Congressman annouced a vote for the favorite "egregious earmark of the week" because the segment will be ending in December due to the coming earmark ban.
“Fortunately, between the House moratorium on earmarks and the Senate Republican Conference’s decision to forgo earmarks next year, we’ll finally run out of earmarks to ridicule,” said Flake in a press release. “But while earmarks will be scarce, there are plenty of other sources of federal spending to expose. So stay tuned for a new project as we head into the New Year.”
Some of the earmarks voters can choose from include $100,000 to fix Orange Show Stadium, $500,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation, or $500,000 for ski facilities at the North Creek Ski Bowl. But those are just a few of the numerous earmarks featured in the weekly segment.