Want your own special earmark? Here's how!
By stang Posted in Congress — Comments (2) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The law firm Venable LLP was nice enough to post guidelines on how to get your very own earmark here (and of course a sales pitch on the importance of engaging their firm to help you):
http://venable.com/docs/pubs/1290.pdf
They euphimistically call it "Maximizing Opportunities for Federal Funding via Congressional Appropriation (and an explanation of "earmarks")
A particularly enlightening highlight:
"What Can Be Funded? The short answer is: Just about anything for which the federal government provides funding, which is lots and lots and lots and lots of things." Read more...
I exaggerate not! That's a lot of lots.
With an invitation like that, how could anyone refuse?
In all fairness to Venable LLP, they are certainly not the only law firm engaged in this practice and they didn't write the rules.
But if you want to understand why lobbyists generated over $2,000,000,000 (yes, that's what 2 billion dollars really looks like!)(http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/)in fees in 2006 as well as the the fact that there are allegedly 36,000 earmarks in the proposed budget in Congress right now,(only David Obey,D,WI knows for sure) follow the link and read the guidelines.
To Jeb Hensarling...Kick Butt and Take Names!
There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress.
Mark Twain
Venable LLP is one of the top 100 law firms in the US.
I can picture the late night infomercial now! That crazy guy with the ? all over his suit. I once saw him in the airport wearing that outfit.
Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what your country can do for you. Washington Elected Elite