Jeff Flake takes congress to task on earmarks with 553 Amendments.

I must say, this has been quite a sight. Jeff Flake from Arizona is on C-Span right now protesting every last private company earmark with a matching amendment to bar said earmark from the bill. The bill in question is the current funding bill for the defense department and its 636 Billion dollar budget. He has continually brought up the point that for profit companies should not receive an earmark from congress despite any terminology that says it must be a competitive bid. He is demanding much more transparency for the whole process and keeps bringing up the negative press for the process and how previous rulings in this fashion have led to investigations.

He's raising very valid points including the cycle where earmarked money usually makes its way back into the hands of very powerful congress members that originally set the earmark. He facing opposition from republicans and democrats alike so you know he's striking some kind of chord. I'll be sure to post a video when one is ready or an article when it comes out.

I apologize for not finding any significant video or article. Turns out this guy was also against the bailout before the public was told to be upset about it so these kind of actions aren't new coming from him.

If the House actually voted on all those amendments — using the five-minute minimum for roll calls — it would be voting for 50 hours straight. One of Flake’s amendments takes aim at $1.3 billion in earmarks he calls “no-bid contracts” because they go directly to private companies.

Jeff Flake takes aim at defense earmarks