Important decisions in Congress aren’t always just about passing laws and legislation, sometimes they are more mundane.

When Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R-MS) selected Rep. Roger Wicker (R-MS) to fill the shoes of retiring Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), he created a coveted vacancy on the Appropriations Committee – the people who write the checks to fund the federal government.

The committee vacancy brought out all sorts of contestants. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO), both politically vulnerable incumbents, Rep. Henry Brown (R-SC) and Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL), who had both been candidates for open appropriations seats in the past. And, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a leader of efforts in Congress to reign in earmarking and to make the Appropriations Committee more fiscally responsible, also put his hat in the ring.

The race to fill the open Appropriations Committee seat created a golden opportunity for House Republicans to put some substance behind their recent rhetoric about the need for greater earmark reform and transparency. But by picking Rep. Bonner, Republican leadership in the House squandered their chance to demonstrate that they were serious about changing the way the Appropriations Committee does business. And by not choosing Rep. Flake, a proven advocate of earmark reform and transparency, an even greater opportunity was missed. Given an opening to fundamentally challenge spending priorities in Washington, House Republicans instead chose to continue business as usual.

In addition, their final pick didn’t make much sense: Rep Bonner hails from a state already with significant representation on the committee. With his addition, almost half of Alabama’s congressional delegation sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee.

Despite efforts to characterize him as a reformer, the choice of Rep. Bonner was practically a coronation. Before his election to Congress he was Chief of Staff for his predecessor, Sonny Callahan, also a powerful Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman. Callahan’s predecessor, Jack Edwards, was also a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Republican leadership continues to pull their punches on earmark reform. Democrats made their earmark reform splash last year because they went further towards reform and transparency than anyone thought they would. Instead of taking a page from that book, Republicans seem to be trying to get by on spin and half measures.

Perhaps House Republican leadership could crib from Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-CA) recent press release where he announced that after obtaining $12.9 million in earmarks in FY08, he wouldn’t pursue any for FY09. Waxman stated, “We have a problem in Congress. Congressional spending on earmarks is out of control…I think our best approach would be to suspend all earmarks for the 2009 appropriations cycle while we consider the right reforms for the earmark process.” Other lawmakers, like Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) have made similar remarks and come to similar decisions. But rather than taking a bold stand, the Republican caucus only calls for an earmark moratorium and reform if the Democratic caucus goes along.

These squandered opportunities and empty rhetoric simply reinforce public cynicism about Congress. Forty-four percent of FY08 earmarks went to Republicans, and the explosion of earmarks happened under their watch. Significant progress on earmark reform was made last year, but it is a long road ahead to get to true transparency and accountability in how politicians spend our tax dollars.

Words are nice, but taxpayers demand more action from both sides.

For more information, contact Steve Ellis at (202)-546-8500 ext. 126 or email.