Freaking Out About Porky Earmarks For DC Hospitals!

Have you heard about the dreaded "earmarks" that are the latest thing to destroy society? These devils are often referred to interchangeably with the term "pork barrel spending," as in government waste of the most corrupt and robust kind.

In the $410 billion budget bill that Congress passed Tuesday, the total amount of earmarked funds ran to a grand total of ... $7.7 billion. And anyone familiar with math can figure it out: if Congress had only eliminated this $7.7 billion, our $2 trillion budget deficit would disappear.

And now consider, Washington D.C. residents, some of the $5 million in earmarks that D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton inserted: "$2.85 million to the Children’s National Medical Center for pediatric surgical center renovations, $368,464 to Safe Kids Worldwide Inc. for a child safety initiative and $196,514 to the Capital Area Food Bank for capital construction." As if those corporate fat cats do anything good for society!

Right. So, let's actually define "earmark." The distribution of Treasury funds to various agencies and departments in the executive branch is approved by Congress in appropriations bills. These agencies and departments then allocate their funds to various projects they deem worthy. "Earmarking," however, is when a legislator flags some of that appropriated money within the legislation for specific projects. Eliminating "earmarks" would not cut a single dollar from the budget.

"Pork," on the other hand, is a term that people use when they think funds have been flagged for something stupid.

So, are you outraged that Eleanor Holmes Norton, your (pretend) representation in Congress, allocated $2.85 million in existing discretionary funds toward renovating a children's hospital in her home district? Or maybe the fact that legislators directly allocate only 1percent of appropriations at their individual discretion is the least of anyone's problems right now.

Jim Newell appropriates for Wonkette and IvyGate.