An earmark by any other name ...

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: October 2, 2008

CNN now has a story about the proliferation of earmarks in the Senate’s version of the not-a-bailout bill. I saw a video of it by Brian Todd on CNN a bit ago, but it isn’t available on the web site yet. I’ll keep checking.

Guess which earmark is getting the most attention?

If you guessed CERTAIN WOODEN ARROWS DESIGNED FOR USE BY CHILDREN, you get an A!!

From CNN:

For example, the proposal includes an excise tax exemption for a very specific type of arrow used by child archers.

According to Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group, current law places an excise tax of 39 cents on the first sale by the manufacturer, producer or importer of any shaft of a type used to produce certain types of arrows.

“This proposal would exempt from the excise tax any shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means to enhance the spine of the shaft used in the manufacture of an arrow that measures 5/16 of an inch or less and is unsuited for use with a bow with a peak draw weight of 30 pounds or more,“ Ellis wrote.

Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, and Gordon Smith, a Republican, were the initial sponsors of the arrow provision. According to Bloomberg News, the earmark provision would be worth $200,000 a year to Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon.

A Wyden aide said the Oregon senator did not ask that the provision be added to bailout package, but that doesn’t fly with Ellis.

“The bottom line is, this is benefiting a very few manufacturers, and I think most Americans who are either concerned about the bailout package or concerned about the economy are going to be wondering why a provision benefiting wooden arrow manufacturers is catching a ride on the package,“ Ellis said.

Um ... yes, they sure are.

Incidentally, I think it’s really funny—not in a comical way, but in an insulting way—that Wyden’s aide says it’s not an earmark because Wyden didn’t request it.

So now we have not-really-earmarks as part of the not-a-bailout bill.

Give me a break!

Read the rest of the story here.