Garrett praised for opposing pork

Mark A. Hicks, illustrator

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Rep. Scott Garrett got a perfect 100 score on the Club for Growth's 2007 RePORK Card this week. No one else in the New Jersey House delegation, Republican or Democrat, scored over 4 percent.

The scorecard looks at 50 votes taken in the House between June 26 and August 5 on amendments to strip earmarks from appropriations bills. New rules adopted by the House this year allow for such challenges.

The rules were adopted after members of the staunchly conservative Republican Study Committee, including Garrett, brought all business on the House floor to a standstill, and committee members have been taking advantage of the opportunity zealously.

Garrett, R-Wantage, voted on 48 of the amendments, and supported killing the earmark every time. A majority of the House voted the opposite way of Garrett on every vote but one.

The only earmark that was actually stripped was $129,000 in the Financial Services appropriations bill "to the Mitchell County Development Foundation, for the Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree project."

Usually when you hear the words Christmas tree and appropriation you think of New Jersey, but this one had been sponsored by Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., a frequent critic of earmarks. The 249-174 vote appears to be something of a comeuppance from his colleagues.

Reps. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, and Albio Sires, D-West New York, voted against McHenry's Christmas tree earmark and were the only Democrats in the state delegation to get a score higher than zero from the Club for Growth, which crusades for lower taxes and less government.

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, was the only New Jersey Republican to get a zero. Frelinghuysen is a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee, which jealously guards its right to earmark funding in spending bills.

Comments

[paige]

Good on Rep Garrett.
Too bad my Rep, RINO Mike Ferguson scored 2%. He never met an earmark he didn't like.
Since he votes with the Dems more often than not, maybe he should change his party affiliation.