Washington » Citing the nation's grim financial shape, Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced Wednesday that he will not seek any earmarks this year.
Chaffetz, an outspoken critic of the federal budget process, didn't request any pet projects in last year's budget, either -- a position that puts him at odds with Utah's four other members of Congress.
"There were a lot of good, worthy projects that were requested," Chaffetz said, "but I can't justify putting our nation further into debt."
Earmarks are projects funded at the request of members of Congress that tend to benefit their district or state. Federal lawmakers are expected to turn in their 2011 requests to the appropriations committees next week.
Chaffetz, a GOP freshman who represents Utah's 3rd District, released a list of every project submitted to his office on his congressional Web site. He was asked to support more than $280 million worth of earmarks, though more than half included Utah Transit Authority's light-rail projects.
Among the other proposals were a center for family health history pushed by Intermountain Healthcare, a forensics lab in West Valley City and Chinese instruction support for Utah Valley University.
Chaffetz's decision doesn't mean that all of these projects will go unfunded. It is common for a city, university or private company seeking federal money to ask multiple lawmakers for help.
That is, if the earmark system remains the same.
Capitol Hill is buzzing over potential changes to the controversial process. House Democrats announced Wednesday a one-year ban on earmarks to private companies. At the same time, a group of House Republicans, which includes Chaffetz, is pushing the GOP to shun earmarks altogether and a decision could come by the end of the week.
Still, more members of Congress, including Utah's senators, defend their right to earmark funds.
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, is a member of the powerful appropriations committee, a post that has helped him bring hundreds of millions of dollars back to the state, with some of it going to campaign donors.
He said eliminating earmarks would only give more power to the presidency and that it would be naïve to think the executive branch would not play politics with where it sent the funds.
Bennett said an earmark ban wouldn't reduce the budget, only shift the decision making from Congress to the White House.
Chaffetz disagrees with that view. He argues an earmark ban by Congress could cut the budget by billions.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has said he respects Chaffetz's stand but says it's wrong.
"He has cities and towns and counties in his district that should be helped when every other city, town and county in the country is being helped," Hatch said. "And if you don't do it, you are just not doing your job."
Hatch promised to look out for Utah's 3rd District in the earmark process.
For his part, Chaffetz said this attitude is part of the reason the federal government is $12 trillion in debt.
"The appropriations process is totally out of control," Chaffetz said. "I'm not going along just to get along. I want to make some changes."
He noted that earmarks account for less than 1 percent of the federal budget and worthwhile projects could receive funding through grants.
"I want to be very helpful for those worthy causes to go through the grant process. Grants are open, transparent and based on merit," Chaffetz said. "That is how this should be done, based on merit and not just on political favoritism."
Chaffetz received some heat last year from mayors in his district who were upset he didn't support their earmark requests. The congressman then developed his own criteria for requesting earmarks, saying they could only go to public or nonprofit entities for projects with a clear "federal nexus."
But when it came time to review the requests, Chaffetz found he just couldn't do it. "We are $12 trillion in debt. I can't justify earmarking special funds for Utah."
