OKLAHOMA CITY – Before Oklahoma’s U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn challenged Congress’ spending on “earmarks” last year, political strategist Tim Phillips said he didn’t really know what earmarks were. Today, Phillips serves as president of Washington, D.C.-based Americans for Prosperity Foundation, touring the country in an effort to make members of Congress more accountable and responsible in their spending practices.

“Not every project that is funded with an earmark is necessarily a waste of money, but the practice of earmarking makes it much easier for boondoggles like the $223 million ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ to slip through,” said Phillips. “Let’s end earmarks and have an open debate about how we should spend our tax dollars.”

Lawmakers have increasingly engaged in the practice of earmarking, designating federal dollars for specific projects in members’ home districts. Instead of submitting their projects as budgeted items, the more powerful lawmakers will often add on funding for their “pet” projects to another bill – sometimes a bill on an unrelated subject – at the last minute, while the bill is in a conference committee. Therefore, other members of Congress and the public at large are often unaware of the new spending items contained in the bill when the final vote on the measure is taken.

In 1995, Congress passed legislation containing 2,749 earmarks, said Phillips, and in 2005, Congress passed 15,877 earmarks totaling $47 billion. With a multitrillion-dollar federal deficit, a war on terrorism to fund and critical needs in health care, education and other areas of high priority for the nation, the American people must demand from Congress an accounting of how their tax dollars are being spent, Phillips said.

Coburn brought the nation’s attention to the process by challenging earmarks on the Senate floor, even voting against spending items for projects in Oklahoma. Though political analysts at first thought Coburn’s actions would amount to political suicide, voters in Oklahoma and nationwide have shown their support for the effort. Other lawmakers who voted with Coburn have been re-elected in their home districts, said Phillips, and the movement is gaining ever greater momentum.

Americans for Prosperity has proposed several possible solutions to the problem of earmarks, but on Friday Phillips stressed just three points. First, earmarks should be required to bear the name of the legislator who requested them in the Congressional Record, removing the anonymity that currently makes the process so attractive.

Second, earmark requests should be made early in the legislative process, so that the public and other members of Congress can have the opportunity to weigh the merits of the projects proposed. Third, the legislator who requests an earmark should be required to submit an explanation of how the money should be spent, which would be available on the Internet or as part of the Congressional Record.

“By definition, if you follow the budget process and have discussion on these items, they are no longer an earmark – they become honest budget items,” said Phillips.

Oklahoma City was the eighth stop for the tour this week. The tour is visiting cities that have received earmarked funds. Oklahoma City has an earmark for $1 million to develop a ferry system, unrelated to the privately owned Water Taxi company that currently operates ferries on the Bricktown Canal.