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Washington D.C.- Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Chairman of the Republican Study Committee – a group of over 100 House conservatives, today issued the following statement regarding Republican efforts to reform earmarks and the failure of House Democrats to work together to address the broken system:
“Conservatives consistently make the case that the earmarking process has too often lent itself to the triumph of seniority over merit, secrecy over transparency, and the special interest over the national interest, and I applaud Republican leaders in the House for making earmark reform a top priority. While disappointed by the refusal of Democrats to work with Republicans to fix the broken earmark system, I can’t say that I am shocked.
“When it comes to earmarks, Democrats act like a pig that eats from two troughs. They failed to live up to a promise to cut the number of taxpayer funded earmarks in half. Democrats broke another promise to bring greater transparency to the process and instead attempted to keep earmarks hidden from the view of the taxpayers who pay for them. Not to be outdone by her caucus, Speaker Pelosi tells reporters that she’d personally get rid of all earmarks while remaining one of the largest earmarkers in the House – and that is saying something.
“The American people see earmarks as the poster children of fiscal irresponsibility, the kissing cousin to unethical behavior, and an all too frequent enabler of unlawful acts. The emerging pattern of campaign donations coming in one door and taxpayer funded earmarks going out of the other has further corrupted the process.
“It is clear that Democrats are satisfied with business as usual in Washington, despite their abysmal approval ratings. At a time when families across America are tightening their belts, it is an utter embarrassment for some in Congress to continue to waste taxpayer money on monuments to themselves, lobster institutes, and hippie museums. On behalf of taxpayers across the country, Republicans will use every method at our disposal to bring the broken earmark process to an immediate halt.”
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