December 7, 2010 2:47PM # Rep. Jeff Flake to Appropriations By [Tad DeHaven](https://www.cato.org/people/tad-dehaven) --- SHARE In-coming House Speaker John Boehner’s [endorsement](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46024.html) of Rep. Jeff Flake (R‑AZ) for a seat on the chamber’s appropriations committee means that it’s probably a done deal. Flake is one of the few policymakers who actually lives up to the fiscal conservative label. Thus, Flake’s appointment to a committee that many members think only exists to increase spending on special interests would be welcome news. Boehner also endorsed a suggestion from Rep. Jeff Kingston (R‑GA), [who has mounted a dark-horse campaign to chair the appropriations committee](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/rep-kingstons-spending-cut-plan), to create a subcommittee focused on investigating federal programs. Flake would chair this subcommittee, and according to a [release](http://flake.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Flake_New_Investigations_Subcomm_2_pgr.pdf) on his website, he has already lined up worthy targets like [Head Start](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/hhs/subsidies) and [farm subsidies](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/agriculture/subsidies). How much success will Flake have within the committee? The *New York Times* [quotes](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/us/politics/07approps.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1) Flake as boldly saying, “It has been a favor factory for years, and now it is going to become a slaughterhouse.” At the same time, Flake acknowledged to *[Politico](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46024.html)* that putting a few anti-spenders on appropriations isn’t going to be enough: > Flake said the conservatives that Boehner wants to get on the committee will be “marginalized” if they’re scattered throughout the panel. > > > “It’s not enough just to have a few going on the committee,” he said. “They could be dispersed among the subcommittees that are forgotten.” I recently [warned](http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/rep-kingstons-spending-cut-plan) the House Republican leadership against serving tea party voters re-heated meatloaf by allowing old-school spenders to dominate the committees. Getting Jeff Flake on appropriations is a step in the right direction, but his appointment can’t be a token gesture. Anti-spenders like Flake will need support from their leadership to succeed because they sure won’t be making friends with the big-spending old bulls. ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).