Stop the Earmarks. Fix Washington.
The spending habits of Congress – and pork-barrel earmarks, in particular – have become the clearest symbol of a broken Washington. With that in mind, House Republicans asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats to join them in supporting an immediate moratorium on all earmarks while a bipartisan select committee identifies ways to bring fundamental change to the way in which Washington spends taxpayers’money. The Majority’s response: no thanks.
In spite of the Democrats’ refusal to change the way Washington spends taxpayer dollars, House Republicans have committed themselves to a series of standards that will be the basis of their comprehensive earmark reform efforts. This website is dedicated to those standards and what House Republicans are doing to fix Washington by stopping earmarks.
UPDATES:
4/7/08 - WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Democrats' Broken Earmark Reform Promises
4/1/08 - Speaker Pelosi Says "April Fools" on Immediate Earmark Moratorium
3/24/08 - Leader Alert: Broken Earmark Process On Full Display As Another House Democrat Is Exposed
3/14/08 - Boehner: GOP Will Lead Where Democrats Have Failed on Congressional Earmark Reform
3/12/08 - Boehner Says Obey Letter Violated House Earmark Reform Rules
3/12/08 - Leader Alert: Speaker Pelosi Wavering Under GOP Pressure for an Earmark Freeze
What others are saying:
"Democrats are on the wrong side of an issue they once so passionately championed"
- San Francisco Chronicle Editorial, 2/1/08
“Abuse of the earmark has undercut respect for Congress. Members would be better off without the public cynicism they have, by this habit, earned,”
-Charleston Daily News Editorial, 1/31/08
