Earmarks create a Web collapse
A new online earmark tracking system shut down the day requests were due because of an overload of traffic. John Dimsdale reports this could be an indicator of the House's inability to track and prioritize these projects.
U.S. House of Representatives (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
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Scott Jagow: President Bush and some people in Congress have been trying limit the amount of pork in the budget. But something happened this week that wasn't very encouraging. John Dimsdale reports from Washington.
John Dimsdale: This year, the House Appropriations Committee decided to try a new system to help it process the tens of thousands of member requests for special budget line items known as earmarks. Instead of putting them on paper, the committee told lawmakers to upload their requests to a website by March 19. On that day, the website collapsed from so much traffic.
Keith Ashdown at the watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense says the sheer number of requests shows no one is keeping track.
Keith Ashdown: If their new website can't deal with an amount of earmark requests coming in, it's clear that they're not going to be able to manage this when they have to vet and prioritize these projects.
Last week, lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected a bill to limit earmarks.
The website is back online, and the committee has extended the deadline for earmark requests until midnight Monday.
In Washington, I'm John Dimsdale for Marketplace.
