Flake on C-SPAN: Earmark process is “circular fundraising”
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 10:23AM 
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) met school children at a temporary site after the 2004 tsunami. Flake's career in the private sector included work done on behalf of the south African nation of Namibia.Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), one in a minority of fiscal conservatives, appeared on C-SPAN Tuesday morning, calling earmarks “circular fundraising.” Taxpayers know exactly how earmarks work—the politico slips funding into one of those “too-long-to-read” bills, slithers over to the corner and enjoys the payback when beneficiaries of the earmark cough up campaign contributions.
Flake came down hard on the recent Defense Appropriations bill. In a news release Monday, Flake cited 1,087 earmarks worth $2.7 billion, with about 540 of those earmarks worth $1.3 billion going directly to private companies without competition. Breaking with tradition, the bill is likely to come up this year under a closed rule, meaning that the House Rules Committee must approve any amendments before they can be debated on the House floor
