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Sen. Claire McCaskill, (D-Mo.), on her report bringing to light earmarks in defense bills.
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A new report out today showing that despite the public outcry against government worker members of both parties are still using billions of dollars in earmarks to get their pet projects approved.
The study conducted by democratic senator Claire McCaskill identified a 150 -- earmarks.
Totaling 834 million dollars in the 2012 defense authorization.
Bill and again.
Many of these earmarks come from both Republicans and Democrats -- some of the Republicans were elected pledging to stop all these -- senator McCaskill.
Joins us now well congratulations.
On the report senator I read it it's excellent.
And what is most disturbing is that some of the people who were for these earmarks were voted in the plight -- yeah.
To get rid of the -- march sap must be embarrassing for them.
Yes no wonder that people are so disgusted with Washington.
I think that you can come here and be part of the problem.
Or you can come here and be part of the solution and I don't think earmarking is a way for us to get us out of our fiscal mess.
Now and and Som -- congress went so far as to try to -- the there at their website suited to get some of these earmarks removed so they wouldn't be -- is that right.
Well -- -- the way -- did we did this by as you know if you read the report we really did this very carefully so it wouldn't be slanted towards one party or the other.
This is -- the practice and process of earmarking.
And what some Republicans did is they removed previous earmark requests from their website.
So we couldn't go back and -- these requests and show that there identical ones they asked for before.
They had declared righteously.
That they weren't -- earmark any more.
You know by the wasted that the total number just we have a 75 of these.
Came from Democrats forty came from Republicans -- there -- a healthy contingent of Republicans.
Who actually went these earmarks.
At just one of them that stuck out for -- was Duncan Hunter Republican from -- when we've -- on the show many times.
He voted five million dollar earmark for helicopter brownouts situational awareness tool.
A company that just so happens to have been founded by his uncle.
Not good not good and I think what really was interesting to me is that that Republican chairman of the committee initially we.
Did the report said -- these -- earmarks.
Then he turns around today and says well we took -- so it doesn't matter she wasted your time.
Well with all due respect if they warning earmarks and why were they taken out it looks like to me that the bright light.
A public attention doesn't work on this subject and I'm very proud of the work my staff did on this and I think us bringing it to the public's attention.
Had exactly the impact we wanted to if -- Venice say you're gonna do an earmark moratorium by gosh you need to do an earmark moratorium.
And at what it also says is you just can't stop this isn't somebody that okay now we have a law.
There will be no we're right you just have to stay on top of it all the time right.
You have to stay on top of that this is a deeply embedded culture in Washington when I came to Washington.
The very first year I was here I realized.
How Green this culture was -- isn't the amount money that's been on earmarks no that's not the problem.
It's the process and what it breeze that somehow this money is eight individual members to do with what they want.
Instead of the people's money that have to be determined on merit and a cost benefit analysis so.
In this was a very lonely fight.
For the first few years I was here there are a handful of Republicans and literally only one other Democrat.
That -- that took out after earmarks and now without a lot more people in this in this war and I think if we keep paying attention we may break -- suddenly have a once -- -- -- -- and by the way you're helped Pat Toomey who's a Republican -- so this is this is a bipartisan movement against earmarks right.
Absolutely pat and I have put in a bill together.
To make this temporary moratorium that both the Democrats and Republicans have declared making it permanent and putting it in the law.
All right -- -- for it and we'd be happy to expose us anytime we want whenever you have more information.
He got a home here at Fox Business thank you very much for being here senator appreciate thank you for having me senator Claire McCaskill -- --
