[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 171 (Tuesday, November 6, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H12750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EARMARKS IN THE LABOR-HHS-VETERANS FUNDING APPROPRIATIONS CONFERENCE 
                                 REPORT

  (Mr. FLAKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. FLAKE. Madam Speaker, people may wonder why we are doing this, 
combining these two bills, the Veterans bill and also Labor-HHS. It is 
easy to see when you look at it.
  There are some 150 pages of earmarks in this conference report, 
including nine air-dropped earmarks. Now, these are earmarks that 
weren't considered by either the House or the Senate. They were simply 
air-dropped into the bill that we have no opportunity to amend out. We 
have violated our own rules. We are violating our own rules to do this: 
$1 million for the Thomas Daschle Center for Public Service and 
Representative Democracy. We are spending $1 million in this bill, air-
dropped into the bill, with no opportunity to amend it out, a center 
for public service and representative democracy at a university 
somewhere named for a former Member of Congress.
  This simply isn't right. This isn't right. We shouldn't be doing 
this. This institution deserves far better than we are giving it.

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