The Hill News

Political insiders are closely following the debate about "earmarks,” with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) making the case for individual projects that create many jobs. There is a lot of hot air and hypocrisy surrounding many who oppose earmarks for others while pushing earmarks for their home states and districts.

Let me suggest a very specific compromise proposal for what are called earmarks.

Members of the House and Senate should be allowed to offer such proposals with one major stipulation. Each proposal should come with a short but detailed employment impact statement, modeled after environmental impact statements. The employment impact statement should detail exactly how many jobs would be created by each proposal, and at what cost.

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