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11/08/2003 Entry: "Regula, the Congressional bully"

"Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (Md.), the House's second-ranking Democrat, hoped to use funds from a $138 billion spending bill now before Congress to upgrade the computer system at St. Mary's College of Maryland, modernize laboratories at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, and support a nonprofit group that repairs the homes of poor, elderly and disabled Marylanders.

"Now those local projects, along with hundreds of others in districts represented by House Democrats, are jeopardized by an unusually nasty political battle that threatens to upset the traditional bipartisan comity of the House Appropriations Committee.

"Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio), who chairs the subcommittee that controls spending on education, health and jobs programs, recently stunned Democrats by announcing plans to reject every 'earmarked' project they are seeking in the final, compromise version of the bill, which funds the departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor.

"His reason: When the House passed the bill on July 10, all 198 Democrats present voted against it, several of them saying it shortchanged education programs. The bill passed, 215 to 208.

"Regula defended his decision in a letter to Rep. David R. Obey (Wis.), the committee's ranking Democrat, saying: 'It is not unique for chairmen -- and ranking members, for that matter -- to use a member's support, or lack of it, as a factor in sorting through the thousands of program and project requests received during the year.'

"Last year's bill included 1,859 local projects -- sometimes called 'pork' -- requested by House members, with a value of $896 million. By tradition, the projects have been divided fairly evenly between Republicans and Democrats.

"Some say the rapid growth of such lawmaker-backed projects has injected a political element into the awarding of grants that are supposed to be based on merit and evenhanded formulas. Before Republicans took control of Congress in 1995, the Education-HHS-Labor bill was largely free of the earmarks.

"But the decision by Regula, a moderate Republican with a history of working collegially with the other party, has infuriated Democrats. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) called the action an 'abuse of power.' Obey said Democrats were being punished for voting their consciences in July.

"And Hoyer said: 'To tell the 130 million people represented by Democrats that they are shut out from getting health and education projects is consistent with the undemocratic, autocratic, confrontational process that's being followed by House Republicans.'

"But Regula has held his ground. He said in his letter to Obey that the several hundred million dollars initially set aside for Democratic projects will be directed to school-related programs across the country.

"Hinting that the nine Republicans and one independent who voted against the bill would also go without their projects, he wrote: 'I am certainly not trying to intimidate members.'

"But that is exactly what Democrats say Republicans are trying to do."
Rejection of 'Earmarks' Angers Democrats, GOP Subcommittee Chairman Says He Won't Honor Party's Projects in Bill. by Dan Morgan and Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post, November 7, 2003

That's because that's what Regula is doing and it really sucks. You can bet the Republican earmarks won't be touched, no matter what Regula threatens, the bastard.

Only power matters to Republicans, not even what it's used for, just wielding it. Is it 2004 yet?

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Updated: April 8, 2006

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