From: rja@redwood26.cray.com (Russ Anderson)
Subject: Re: Republican Controlled Congress
Originator: rja@redwood26
Organization: The 1991 World Champion Minnesota Twins!
Distribution: na
Date: 2 Sep 92 11:38:52 CDT


In article <1992Sep2.034908.25616@midway.uchicago.edu>, sug6@usite-next.uchicago.edu (Patrick Sugent) writes:
> 
>   I was asked to clarify an earlier point I made regarding the top
> 100 spenders in congress.  The following is the source of my
> information.  Please let me know if you find any typos so that
> I may correct my copy.
> 
> Pat
> ___________________________________________________________________
> 
>    This is from an article I clipped in the Wall Street Journal.

Well there's your problem.  :-)

> I don't remember the exact date.
> 
> 
>              "The Billions Congress Wants to Spend"
> 
>      Congress last week extended its own license to spend when it failed to
>    pass a constitutional amendment o balance the budget.  Why did Congress
>    reject this measure?  Research by the National Taxpayers Union
>    Foundation, the research arm of the anti-tax lobby, yields one
>    age-old answer:  Congress was protecting interest-group wish lists.
> 
>      The foundation ran up the numbers and found that the opponents of a
>    balanced budget amendment are also sponsors of legislation that would 
>    cost the taxpayers the most money.

I'm curious.  They mention "sponsors" of legislation, but do they include 
votes for legislation?  (For example: Ted Kennedy proposes Medicade and
80% of the Republicans vote for it.  Is the spending total added to "sponsor"
Kennedy's total but not the Republican voters?)  

[Votes open a whole new can of worms in that sometimes people vote for
bills (for political reasons) because they know the bill won't pass.  An
example is House Republicans voting for "pro-choice" legislation knowing
that Bush would veto it and the Sentate would not override the veto.]

How 'bout if Kennedy "sponsors" a National Health Insurance bill, it's 
defeated, so he co-sponsors a compromise bill.  Do *both* bills count 
toward his spending total? 

Or how 'bout farm state legislators proposing and increase in farm price
supports, knowing that it will never pass, to make their constituents 
happy?  Or proposing a doubling of the price supports (as a barganing
chip), knowing that they will compromise for a smaller increase?

Or say Vin Weber "sponsors" import restrictions on pork imports (protecting
the farming interests back home).  This creates no "spending" in the budget,
but has the same effect as taxing imports and "spending" (giving it to
pork farmers).  Is it counted as "sponsoring" spending?  If so, so is 
that spending calculated?

Then there is the whole issue of entitlements.  Entitlement spending 
continues each year without new legislation.  Who is counted as the 
"sponsor" of social security spending (or the COLA)?  Or is ~70%
of the budget (which is classified as entitlements) not included in 
the spending totals?

>                                        Congressmen who voted for the
>    balanced budget amendment are sponsoring legislation that would increase
>    spending by around $23 billion; members who opposed the amendment currently
>    sponsor legislation that would cost the taxpayer about an additional
>    $137 billion.  The foundation also produced a list of the 100 congressmen
>    and women who would spend the most (as of April 5, 1992).  Only
>    16 of them supported the amendment.  We reprint the list here,
>    with rankings in billions of dollars.

I think a more accurate total would be just the votes for legislation
that become law.  That's a more "where the shoe hits the pavement"
sort of total.  Of course even then some will wait until there are enough
votes to pass and then vote against, so that they can claim to be against
the spending while not alienate their consituents that support the spending...



-- 
Russ Anderson    |  Disclaimer: Any statements are my own and do not reflect
------------------              upon my employer or anyone else.  (c) 1992
EX-Twins' Jack Morris, 10 innings pitched, 0 runs (World Series MVP!)