Despite popular belief, not everyone in Washington is trying to rip us off or pad the pockets of the special interests. There are a growing number of lawmakers that are putting taxpayers before contributors. And we are seeing optimistic signs that there is pressure to expand the new era of openness and transparency on Capitol Hill, after a dark period of earmark and corruption scandals.

Last week, we took a special Thanksgiving peek into what we called the Top Turkeys in Washington. To compliment that, here are five of the things that we are thankful for as we head into the holiday season:

Earmark Disclosure – When Congress made earmark transparency a top priority earlier this year, we were pleased as punch. While certainly not perfect, no Congress has ever provided the quantity of information on earmarks that lawmakers have this year. The other exciting change is that at least 80 individual lawmakers have also disclosed all of their earmark requests, bringing even greater transparency to the process. These advances have given taxpayers unprecedented information about how Congress is spending our money.

End of the Bridge to Nowhere – When we heard that the Alaska Governor had pulled the plug on the $398 million “Bridge to Nowhere,” we were happy enough to dance a jig. The Gravina Island Access Project had become the poster child of Congressional excess, and hopefully its demise will be the harbinger of greater fiscal restraint and end the era of gold-plated transportation projects.

Presidential Veto – Though it took six years, it has been raining vetoes in Washington these days. We recently saw the first veto of a fat appropriations bill, which is good news because it is the last line of defense for taxpayers. Not only can vetoes stop wasteful spending, they help keep the big spenders on their toes and help build a better government by stopping bad bills from becoming law. The veto is no substitute for Congress and the President working together to set spending priorities based on both the needs of voters and the fiscal constraints of the country, but we’re glad the President finally broke his veto-less slump.

Coconut Road – Three cheers for the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization in Florida for just saying no to the $10 million “Coconut Road” interchange earmark, which they didn’t request and has been marred by the taint of congressional corruption.  This earmark was stealthily inserted into the 2005 transportation bill by some person or persons representing the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee after both the House and Senate had passed the legislation, but before the President signed it. Now the Congress has to fix the provision, to make sure that the money can be directed to necessary transportation priorities over corrupt pork.

Mining Reform Legislation – For the last 135 years, mining companies have been getting taxpayer-owned gold, copper and silver for free.  This session, the House of Representatives passed the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 which includes a four percent royalty on currently operating mines on federal land and an eight percent royalty for all new mining operations on federal lands. It has only taken more than a century, but we are on track to end the mining industry giveaway. No longer will these companies walk away with gold, silver and other precious metals from federal lands without fairly compensating federal taxpayers for the resources they extract.

Despite these signs of progress, we have our work cut out for us if we are going to change the ways Congress spends our money. Still, we should be thankful for the successes taxpayers recently have had in forcing their elected official act more responsibly. All good things have to start somewhere.

For more information, contact Steve Ellis at (202)-546-8500 ext. 126 or steve [at] taxpayer.net