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Overheard on the hill: A friendly mole reports that there is allegedly a meeting today at 4pm of the "Appropriations Committee Task Force on Earmark Reform".

See also: Foxes Unite To Assess Henhouse Security

So if you've got a few free minutes today: give Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran's office a call at (202) 224-5054; his press person is Jenny Manley. Ask them if this rather interesting-sounding hearing is open to the public (and if not, why not). Inquiring minds want to know...

Update: After being contacted by a Porkbusters supporter, Jenny Manley was kind enough to respond directly in the comments below. I also asked her several follow-up questions via email; full questions & her answers are below (edited only for formatting):


NZ: Thanks for your direct reply, it is appreciated. I also noticed your comment posted on the Porkbusters blog. Could you address a few follow-up questions? Was there a meeting of some/all Appropriations Committee members previously scheduled to occur today that was intended to address earmarks?

JM: Not that I am aware of or that Sen. Cochran participated in.

NZ: Is it the statement of the Chairman's office that the information we received that there was such a meeting scheduled today (at 4pm, in S-128) was inaccurate?

JM: We are not aware of any meetings of this nature. I was in S-128 at 4:00 today, and I saw no such meeting.

NZ: Is there any effort on the part of the Appropriations Committee leadership or members planned to address earmark reform (whether it is called a "task force" or something else)?

JM: There are several individual members of the Committee, the Senate, and more broadly the Congress who are interested in addressing earmark reform. Chairman Cochran has met with several of these Members and with the Senate Appropriations Committee, and he is right now carefully listening to their different ideas and proposals. We think at some point through this dialoguing a consensus on changes to the appropriations process will emerge.

To close this episode, I will state that despite Ms. Manley's statements, it is my belief, based on checking once again with the source on this item, that a meeting was indeed scheduled, but was most likely cancelled once it became publicly known. I'm comfortable with the original statements of the post as they stand...

Update 2/21: Confirmation that a meeting did, in fact, happen...