Granato: Mike Lee Doesn't Understand Earmarks

From the email box:

As a small businessman for more than 40 years, I know what it means to be fiscally responsible. I’ve run a business on a budget and I’ve made all the tough calls that come with it.
I know the difference between solutions that actually work and a bunch of empty rhetoric — and I can tell you that Mike Lee is offering nothing but a bunch of hot air when it comes to federal funding for Utah.
Mike Lee insists that all earmarks are completely unacceptable, and that he will neither seek nor accept any federal funding for the state of Utah. He claims this is fiscally responsible, despite the fact that it won’t save so much as a penny of the federal budget.
I don’t think Mike Lee understands how the budget process works.
You see, an earmark doesn’t determine if the money will be spent — that decision has already been made long beforehand. Earmarks only determine where the money will be spent — and if Mike Lee refuses to accept the money in Utah, it would simply be spent in California or New York or someplace else instead.
Mike Lee may think he’s taking a noble stand with this charade, but the reality is simple — he’s hurting Utahns. The citizens of Utah pay a tremendous amount in federal income taxes, and our senators should be working to make sure as much of that money comes back to the state as possible.


Quite frankly, Mike Lee’s stand on this issue is an empty gesture that would solve nothing and cost Utah billions of dollars. We can’t afford to let him put his extreme ideological agenda ahead of Utah’s best interests.
It is true that the earmarking process needs reform, and I would demand complete transparency and accountability in that process. However, at the same time, I would not cut off funding for vital programs in Utah that rely on federal dollars — programs like public schools, TRAX and other transportation projects, funding for research and buildings at Utah’s universities, and many others. These projects create good jobs here for Utahns, and that’s something we simply cannot take for granted in these tough economic times.
Mike Lee seems to be the only one who doesn’t understand how important this issue is for Utah.
When I’m elected, I won’t play partisan games with important projects. I will fight for Utah and ensure we receive our fair share of federal funding to improve our state and create jobs here at home.
My allegiance will always be to the people of Utah, not an extreme agenda. Utah families come first.
Sincerely,

Sam Granato