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I am proud to be represented by the most successful earmark recipient in the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
As her constituent, I am grateful that she's been able to "bring home the bacon" (or, as I prefer, the tofu) in the amount of approximately $138 million in the budget bill signed last week.
But I think even fair-minded non-constituents would recognize the virtue in the projects for which she's secured funding.
In the media hysteria over earmarks, one should be forgiven for losing sight of these basic facts:
Earmarks are simply Congressionally directed appropriations. All other spending is directed by executive-branch agencies. And earmarks compromise only a tiny fraction of the federal budget.
Earmarks - like any other form of government action - can be good or bad, as President Obama has stated (even as he seeks to reform the process):
Done right, earmarks give legislators the opportunity to direct federal money to worthy projects that benefit people in their district, and that's why I have opposed their outright elimination.
To paint them with a broad brush as inherently "evil" as Sen. McCain has done is just disingenuous.
Below, I'll show some of the great things that will be accomplished by earmarks in Hawai`i's 2nd Congressional District, thanks to Rep. Hirono and her colleagues in Congress, by fighting real problems, including those in the fields of environmental protection and local agriculture. I'll also provide some brief Hawai`i-related news on GMO legislation and Hawai`i blogs you should be reading.
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