Sen. Charles Schumer Porker of the Month

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) its May 2008 Porker of the Month for attempting to use the tax code to earmark a $2 billion subsidy for a commuter rail between Manhattan and the JFK airport. Sen. Schumer wants to take advantage of the New York Liberty Zone (NYLZ) tax credits, which were intended to stimulate the redevelopment of downtown Manhattan after 9/11, for a rail project that has been under consideration since well before 2001. . . .

On May 1, Sen. Schumer said on the Senate floor that the project “is not an earmark, this is not a specific project.” However, the Senate Finance Committee report published November 13, 2007 determined that the project is a “limited tax benefit,” or earmark. There are constitutional questions as well. A Congressional Research Service (CRS) memo dated April 30, 2008, says the earmark “could raise concerns under the [Constitution’s] Uniformity Clause because it explicitly provides a tax benefit based on a geographical classification.” The Uniformity Clause says that “all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.” Since Sen. Schumer has been pushing this rail project since 2005, he is likely to insert it as an earmark into an appropriations bill . . . [Read More]

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