Democrats marked by ethical questions

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Cloaked in secrecy

Earmarking, and the symbiotic relationship it often creates between members of Congress and corporate and other interest groups, has become a symbol of the ethical laxity that Democrats campaigned against in last week's midterm election.

Earmarking is a form of pork-barrel spending often favored by committee chairmen, congressional leaders and other insiders. Cloaked in secrecy, it enables favored members to bypass the normal budget and appropriations process and insert narrowly drawn spending provisions into legislation.

Though not new, the practice has exploded in recent years. In the most flagrant cases, members have used the process for personal enrichment. In other cases, the spending provisions appear to have been used as a kind of quid pro quo to reward campaign contributors and other supporters.

Earmarks played a role in the Jack Abramoff scandal and the bribery conviction of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe).

They have also led to federal investigations, including an inquiry involving Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), outgoing chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Even when illegal or improper conduct was not at issue, earmarks for campaign contributors have been at the heart of the increasing role of money in politics. Murtha and Hoyer have been senior members of the House Appropriations Committee; its members are usually among the leading earmarkers and also major fundraisers for their parties.

Hoyer told a website this week that he did not favor ending the earmarks system, but said he supported reform and greater transparency so the public would know what was happening.

An aide said Hoyer supported "comprehensive earmark reform that would require full disclosure, including the sponsor. He also believes that all conference reports should be available for members to scrutinize before they are voted on, and should not have last-minute earmarks included, as has been the practice under Republicans."

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Dealings with business

Hoyer has been a vigorous player of the traditional earmarking game.

For example, he has obtained more than $7 million in recent years for the manufacturer of Beretta firearms, which has a facility in his district and manufactures the 9-millimeter pistols used by the Marines. In effect, the earmark required the Pentagon to buy ammunition clips from Beretta USA. In an earlier purchase, the military had obtained clips from another supplier that had submitted the lowest bid; Hoyer said the cheaper clips had sometimes malfunctioned.