Earmarks Ban Would Affect RIF, ROR and 11 Others

Publisher's Weekly ^ | Nov 24, 2010 | Judith Rosen

[Help!]

A rider attached by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510), which proposes banning earmarks for the next three years, could have a devastating effect on educational programs like Reach Out and Read, Reading Is Fundamental, and Teach for America, which would lose their federal funding. The vote on the ban is scheduled to take place on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

“The passage of this amendment would be catastrophic for Reach Out and Read and 12 other high quality, evidence-based programs that benefit millions of children and families in our country,” says Reach Out and Read CEO Earl Martin Phalen. “The best way to protect America’s economic security for the future is to invest in early education, and vote against this shortsighted amendment.”

snip

Reach Out and Read is working with the 12 other nonprofit education organizations that would be affected by the earmark ban—Center for Civic Education, Close Up foundation, Communities In Schools, cooperative Education Exchange Program, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, National History Day, National Writing project, New Leaders for New Schools, Project GRAD, Reading Is Fundamental, Teach for America, and VSA—to try to stop the legislation

www.reachoutandread.org/supporters/advocate/takeaction.aspx.

[Help!]

Is anyone familiar with these programs? Do any have real merit or are most just more liberal indoctrination?

[Peter from Rutland]

That’s wonderful news. Those programs are a waste of money. This also ensures that the food bill will be DOA.

[MrB]

[dinodino]

You should be asking instead, “Are these Constitutionally-authorized functions of government?” Answer: NO. Defund them all.

[Enterprise]

They all sound like leftist tripe. Cut now, suture later.

[2dollarbill]

All those poor, poor children who need more money so they can graduate and still not know how to make change for a dollar. How about this: Cut the administrators pay, fire the bad teachers who are a waste of money, and pay the teachers and each school system based on how smart the students are when they graduate? OH NO!!! that would be just awful because: (fill in liberal excuses here).

[Buckeye McFrog]

Memo to Senator Coburn:

Attaching commendable amendments to Unconstitutional B.S. pieces of legislation will not be tolerated by the American People.

[Presbyterian Reporter]

If RIF, ROR and 11 Others are as fabulous as the author of this puff piece purports, then Congress would immediately pass stand-alone legislation.

Earmarks exist because the project does not have majority support.

Go Coburn. Kill Earmarks.

[tal hajus]

Tom Coburn, my Senator. Inhofe is the other. GO TOM!!!

[ABQHispConservative]

This sudden drive to save earmarks and pork is frankly insulting. Get rid of them. Be strategic about it, start with any rat earmark.

[Libertarian444]

They're coming for the chirrrrren!!!!    /s

[Cicero]

I have an idea. Let’s cut the money for welfare that encourages single mothers with babies. Then we could get back to families who read to their kids at night and teach them to read.

Then kids who went to kindergarten would already be familiar with books and reading.

And while we’re at it, how about putting an end to no fault divorce and gay partnerships?

Does anyone really think that a federally funded program can do a better job with kids than their own families—if they have families?

[raybbr]

“The passage of this amendment would be catastrophic for Reach Out and Read and 12 other high quality, evidence-based programs that benefit millions of children and families in our country,” says Reach Out and Read CEO Earl Martin Phalen.

"Turned community service into a career..."

Does that remind you of someone? Does that mean his opinion has any merit.

[IMTOFT]

Exactly. Earmark defenders always point to the wonderful military devices developed with earmarks. Trust me, if the military needs something, they’ll find a way to fund it, and I would support that.

The fact is 99% of earmarks are pure, unadulterated pork, nothing else...

[supermop]

More about this poor child born into a “foster home”???

http://www.summeradvantage.org/news/Earl-Martin-Phalen-at-BET-Awards.pdf

[RightGeek]

We can’t afford to borrow money from the Chinese to pay for non-essentials. As far the schools go, we would be considerably off if most of the administrators were fired and the teachers went back to teaching the 3Rs.

[Buckeye McFrog]

The schools are filled with SO many dead-weight administrators. Generally they were teachers who were so poor the only way they could get rid of them was to promote and kick them upstairs.

[Publius6961]

which proposes banning earmarks for the next three years, could have a devastating effect on educational programs like Reach Out and Read, Reading Is Fundamental, and Teach for America, which would lose their federal funding.

HOORAY!!!

Having the feds involved in education, more than anything else, nullifies the sovereignty of the States, makes indoctrination and brainwashing of our children inevitable, and for the last 50 years has produced an endless stream of morons (Dim voters.)

[stefanbatory]

Sounds like he’s inserting a poison pill...when a member of the minority in the extreme, one must resort to unconventional tactics in order to stop abominable legislation from passing...if it means the libs have to essentially defund crap programs that are popular ways they use to buy votes, it makes it difficult for them to justify voting for the crap bill...a lose/lose vote for them...rather brilliant if you ask me...

[KarlInOhio]

One of the (irrational) complaints I heard about the earmark ban is that the executive departments would then have complete control over the spending rather than being directed how to spend it by Congress. Wouldn't all of these programs just have to ask the Department of Education for funding instead of having Congress specify it?