hey, this is an excerpt from an email update i get every now and then from my representative in GA. he's a republican, unabashedly conservative, and it's entertaining to read his self-congradulatorily values-laden emails. but i thought this one was interesting because it shows how a "real" conservative is supposed to think, while still licking the toes of the President. the thing is, though, i kind of agree with him on his bill.

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Cleaning Up the Federal Budget Key to Long Term Economic Growth

By U.S. Representative Johnny Isakson

There is no question that President Bush's economic policy has a lot to do
with the steady growth our nation's economy has been experiencing over the
last year. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts were progressive and bold and kept us
afloat during some of the most challenging times in American history. The
Sarbanes-Oxley Act brought more accountability to Wall Street and more
investor confidence in the stockmarket.

Unfortunately, Wall Street is not the only place that needed a little
cleaning up when it comes to the abuse of other people's money. The waste,
fraud and abuse of taxpayer money occurs at every level and branch of our
government. The result is an overstuffed budget that serves as an obstacle
to long-term growth and prosperity.

Last week, the Senate passed the FY2004 Omnibus Spending Bill--a bill I
voted against last month when it came before the House. While the bill
includes funding for essential programs for healthcare, education and our
nation's veterans, it also includes countless unnecessary spending
provisions that were added in the dead of night. Regularly cited examples
include $50 million for an indoor tropical rainforest in Iowa; $200,000 for
the National Distance Running Hall of Fame; and $225,000 for the Hawaii
Statehood Celebration.

These last-minute spending provisions, commonly referred to as "pork," are
one of the major culprits of overspending in Washington. In July, I
introduced legislation to drastically reduce wasteful spending by injecting
more accountability and transparency into the Congressional appropriations
process.

By the time spending bills hit the House floor, they are thousands of pages
long and include page after page of funding projects that end up costing the
taxpayers billions of dollars. Oftentimes, members only have a few hours to
review these gargantuan bills for unnecessary spending before they must cast
a vote--an impossible task that always fails the taxpayer.

My bill is simple. It would require that all new spending provisions added
during a conference committee be set out in a separate document.
Representatives would have a full 24 hours to review the additions before
considering the bill on the House floor. The changes I have proposed would
shed light on unnecessary earmarks. They would allow lawmakers to know
exactly which additional projects or expenditures have been added, instead
of hiding them in thousand of pages of report language, so they may cast a
fully informed vote.