Washington -- Former U.S. Rep. James Walsh, who brought more than $900 million in federal earmarks to Central New York during 20 years in Congress, emerged Tuesday as a leading voice in Washington calling for reform of a broken system. Walsh, now a Washington lobbyist, joined four government watchdog groups and other lobbyists to propose a set of principles...
James Walsh, who represented Syracuse in Congress for 20 years, has joined a coalition of good-government groups fighting a "pay-to-play" culture in Congress.Washington -- Former U.S. Rep. James Walsh, who brought more than $900 million in federal earmarks to Central New York during 20 years in Congress, emerged Tuesday as a leading voice in Washington calling for reform of a broken system.
Walsh, now a Washington lobbyist, joined four government watchdog groups and other lobbyists to propose a set of principles that would vastly change the federal earmark process.
The coalition said the idea is to reduce the influence of special interest groups, eliminate opportunities for corruption and save taxpayer money by eliminating wasteful, pork-barrel spending.
Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, one of the groups, said it’s now clear that “earmarks that were once bragged about have become a national embarrassment for Congress.”
She said the five-point reform plan agreed to by the coalition would improve an imperfect system of doling out federal spending requests from Congress.
“It represents a pragmatic compromise, the sort of compromise I think all of us here would like to see Congress work out,” Sloan said.
The coalition’s proposal calls for:
• Congress to ban most campaign contributions to members from lobbyists or leaders of any entity seeking federal earmarks.
• Barring legislative staffers in Congress from attending campaign fundraisers, thus eliminating any connections between legislation and campaign contributions.
• Congress to create a new database of all earmark requests, improving transparency for the spending process.
• The Government Accountability Office to randomly audit earmarks, ensuring that taxpayer money is spent wisely.
• Members of Congress to certify that each earmark recipient is qualified to handle the project.
The other members of the earmark-reform coalition are the watchdog groups Citizens Against Government Waste, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Public Citizen.
Walsh said he agreed to join the coalition because he was concerned the earmark system had grown out of hand in recent years, and efforts at reform stalled as Republicans and Democrats came up with different plans.
“I am here because I spent 20 years of my life in Congress, my father preceded me 10 years prior, and I have tremendous respect for the institution,” Walsh said, explaining his new partnership with the watchdog groups.
As the one-time chairman of four of the 12 Appropriations subcommittees, Walsh said it was always a battle to root out wasteful projects.
“I tried to make sure there was some discipline in that process, and that there was not waste,” Walsh said. “But things happen.”
Walsh and coalition members have briefed leaders of the House and Senate about their proposal in recent weeks. Their idea is for Congress to institute new earmark rules when the 112th Congress convenes in January.
This year, Republicans and Democrats came up with different proposals that were not always enforced.
Republican leaders called for a one-year moratorium on all earmarks. But at least four GOP members refused to go along with the moratorium.
Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, banned earmark requests to for-profit organizations. Members were told they could request money only for nonprofits.
But at least two Central New York congressmen tried to find a way around the new rules. The Post-Standard reported in May that U.S. Reps. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, and Michael Arcuri, D-Utica, made earmark requests for nonprofits that intended to funnel the money to for-profit corporations.
None of those earmarks were included in the three appropriations bills that have passed the House so far this year.
Maffei, asked about the coalition’s proposal, said he likes the idea.
“As Congressman Walsh certainly knows, appropriations can be an incredibly effective way to invest in our local economy,” Maffei said in a statement. “I strongly endorse principles that would bring more transparency to the system. I’ve always put all of my requests online, but a Congress-wide database would be even better for taxpayers and would keep everyone honest.”
Walsh said the coalition’s proposal would do away with the temporary bans and simply allow all earmarks within a new, transparent system.
The 10-term congressman said he briefed House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, about the proposal, which met with strong interest. Other members of the coalition briefed Democratic leaders.
“It was universal, the interest,” Walsh said. “The staff members’ faces lit up when we talked about a ban on staff attending fundraisers. When we mentioned that proposal to lobbyists, they didn’t think it was such a good idea.”
Walsh, who works for the Washington office of the law firm K & L Gates, said he was expressing his personal views Tuesday, not necessarily those of his firm.
--Contact Washington correspondent Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751.