Jim DeMint got a mention on NPR this morning (I couldn’t find the specific link, but I swear I heard it) for his excellent work on a bipartisan approach to reining in earmarks. The announcer pronounced his name DEmint, with the accent on the first syllable, but it was much-deserved recognition all the same.

When he spoke to my Rotary a while back he introduced himself as that other senator, and allowed as how members may not have heard of him if they read The State newspaper. Well, true, Lindsay Graham does play on a bigger stage, and gets more play — and not just from us.

However, I think the November election provided Sen. DeMint with a way to distinguish himself from the herd, and to his great credit, he is seizing the opportunity. When he was just one of the GOP majority, and one of the most slavishly loyal to whatever the party line happened to be, there was no particular reason to pay attention to him. You know: You talk to one redwood, you’ve talked to them all.

But now he is distinguishing himself. The irony is that the Democrats had to take over (after promising reform) before he could really flex his muscles as a true fiscal conservative. This definitely sets him apart from the old crowd. As you can see in this video, his fellow Republicans have not only been inclined to keep the earmark system as is, but to take full advantage of it — while excusing themselves by saying this is just the way the system is, so they have no choice if they’re to serve their constituents.

No such rationalizations for our Jim. He’s getting something done. And with Nancy Pelosi, no less, which means he believes in the principle of getting the job done more than he does in the destructive old GOP notion of only working with your own. Here’s hoping more folks of both parties take a cue from him.

Anyway, here’s his press release on the subject. I hope to hear more such good news in the future:

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina)

Contact: Wesley
Denton (202) 228-5079 or Adam Temple (803) 771-6112

For Immediate
Release: January 16,
2007

 

Senate
Unanimously Approves DeMint-Pelosi
Earmark Transparency
Reform

 

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South
Carolina) made the following statement after the Senate unanimously approved an
amendment he sponsored that would require disclosure of all earmarks on the
internet 48 hours before they are voted on. U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy
Pelosi (D-California) authored similar reforms that passed the House earlier
this
year.

"I’m pleased we were able to work in a
bipartisan way to make sure the Senate is completely transparent when it comes
to congressional earmarks," said Senator DeMint. "This is a very important first
step in earmark reform, and it is a victory for American taxpayers. However, the Senate lobbying reform bill
still does not do enough to prevent Congress from steering taxpayer dollars to
special interest projects.

 

"The outcome we achieved on earmark disclosure
demonstrates that we can work together to achieve meaningful results and I hope
we can continue this progress by considering several important reform amendments
that are currently
pending."

 

"We need to stop earmarks from being airdropped
into conference reports without being considered in either the House or the
Senate. We also need to consider and
vote on the Legislative Line Item Veto amendment that would allow the President
to have Congress reconsider questionable earmarks that make it into the budget
and annual spending
bills."

 

The DeMint-Pelosi Amendment
requires:

•   Disclosure of earmarks for federal
  projects;

•  Disclosure of all earmarks contained in report language,
  which is where approximately 95 percent of earmarks are prescribed;
  and
•  Members seeking earmarks provide written information to
  committee of jurisdiction, which must be made available to the public on the
  Internet in a searchable format 48 hours prior to consideration.

Senator DeMint has sponsored an amendment that
prohibits adding preventing out-of-scope earmarks that were not in either the
House or Senate versions of the bill from being "airdropped" into a conference
report. Senator DeMint has cosponsored the Legislative Line Item Veto amendment
with Senator Judd Gregg (R-New
Hampshire).

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