(Washington, D.C.) – The Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP), the Club for Growth (CFG), and the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) urge the Senate to pass S. Res. 123 – commonsense earmark disclosure reform – that will protect taxpayers and restore confidence in the Congress by ending the special-interest driven favor factory.
“If we are to restore taxpayer faith in the legislative process, then we must pass reforms that change the special-interest driven culture that has corrupted our current system,” said current President and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership and former U.S. Representative Charles F. Bass (R-NH). “Requiring transparency in the way that the federal government spends public dollars will serve to curb wasteful spending and increase support for the many important actions the federal government undertakes.”
“Earmark reform will shine a glaring light on the profligate pork barrel projects and the politicians who sponsor them,” Club for Growth President Pat Toomey said. “By requiring disclosure, this important legislation will allow Americans to hold their representatives in Washington accountable for spending taxpayer dollars with reckless abandon. Perhaps that is the reason why the Democratic leadership is so desperate to stonewall this reform.”
“The prospects for earmark reform get dimmer every day with the first spending bill of the 110th Congress being stuffed with more than $20 billion in earmarks. Some Members of Congress even have the audacity to claim the projects aren’t earmarks,” declared Tom Schatz, president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste. “Tomorrow’s vote will separate those who want real reform and those who just want to pay lip service to reform.”
S. Res. 123 requires the disclosure of several types of information related to earmarks contained in committee-passed bills. This information would be required to be made available in a searchable format on the internet. The information required to be disclosed would include the name of the Senator requesting the earmark, the name and address of the intended recipient of the earmark, the purpose of the earmark, and a certification that the requesting Senator and his or her spouse have no financial interest in the earmark. This is simple information that every Senator should be willing to provide to the public.
This commonsense disclosure reform passed the Senate earlier this year by a vote of 98-0 as an amendment to S.1. Unfortunately, the House has not acted on this legislation, and as a result, the Senate’s new earmark disclosure requirements have not been enacted. Passage of S. Res. 123 will ensure that these requirements are implemented.
RMSP, CFG, and CCAGW praise the efforts of Senators DeMint (R-SC), Coburn (R-OK), Cornyn (R-TX), Chambliss (R-GA), and Enzi (R-WY) to pass S. Res. 123 and provide meaningful and needed earmark disclosure reform. This reform builds on efforts in the House of Representatives that were led by Republican Main Street Partnership leaders like Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Charlie Dent (R-PA) and Republican Study Committee leaders like Mike Pence (R-IN) and Jeb Hensarling (R-TX).
NOTE: LETTER TO SENATE BELOW
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The Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP) is dedicated to promoting and building a pragmatic, thoughtful, fiscally conservative, and inclusive “Governing Majority,” where political debate is encouraged to promote solutions to improve the lives of all Americans. Embracing the full spectrum of center-right ideologies and values in order to build coalitions, RMSP is the largest organization of elected leaders who are in the mold of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. For more information on RMSP, visit our website at www.republicanmainstreet.org.
The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) is the lobbying arm of CAGW. The CCAGW mission is to advocate the elimination of waste and inefficiency in government through nonpartisan public education programs and lobbying activities.
April 16, 2007
Dear Senator,
On behalf of the Republican Main Street Partnership, the Club for Growth, and the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, we urge you to adopt S. Res. 123 – legislation that enacts commonsense earmark disclosure reform. This legislation will protect taxpayers and restore confidence in the Congress by ending the special-interest driven favor factory.
If we are to restore taxpayer faith in the legislative process, then we must pass reforms that change the special-interest driven culture that has corrupted our current system. Requiring transparency in the way that the federal government spends public dollars will serve to curb wasteful spending and increase support for the many important actions the federal government undertakes.
Earmark reform will shine a glaring light on the profligate pork barrel projects and the politicians who sponsor them. By requiring disclosure, this important legislation will allow Americans to hold their representatives in Washington accountable for spending taxpayer dollars with reckless abandon.
S. Res. 123 requires the disclosure of several types of information related to earmarks contained in committee-passed bills. This information would be required to be made available in a searchable format on the internet. The information required to be disclosed would include the name of the Senator requesting the earmark, the name and address of the intended recipient of the earmark, the purpose of the earmark, and a certification that the requesting Senator and his or her spouse have no financial interest in the earmark. This is simple information that every Senator should be willing to provide to the public.
This commonsense disclosure reform passed the Senate earlier this year by a vote of 98-0 as an amendment to S.1. Unfortunately, the House has not acted on this legislation, and as a result, the Senate’s new earmark disclosure requirements have not been enacted. Passage of S. Res. 123 will ensure that these requirements are implemented.
We praise the efforts of Senators DeMint (R-SC), Coburn (R-OK), Cornyn (R-TX), Chambliss (R-GA), and Enzi (R-WY) to pass S. Res. 123, and urge you to join them in supporting meaningful and needed earmark disclosure reform.
Sincerely,
Charles F. Bass
President, Republican Main Street Partnership
Patrick J. Toomey
President, Club for Growth
Thomas A. Schatz
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
