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Washington D.C.- Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, today sharply criticized Speaker Pelosi and Democrat Leadership for refusing to allow Members of Congress to read through an 853-page Labor-HHS/ Military-Veterans Conference Report that includes secret earmarks that were inserted after both the House and Senate voted on the different spending bills.
The conference report also includes more than 150 pages of earmarks that would spend millions of taxpayer dollars on entities like the LBJ foundation in Austin, a Jazz museum in Kansas City, and a Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles. In addition, the Conference Report contains secret, new earmarks that were added after both the House and Senate passed each spending bill. Among the nine secret new earmarks that Democrat leaders are asking taxpayers to foot the bill for is the Thomas Daschle Center for Public Service ($1,000,000).
The bill will cost taxpayers nearly $151 billion, a $21.2 billion increase from last year (+10.9%), and is 6.8% more than the President’s request. RSC Chairman Hensarling issued the following statement:
“Speaker Pelosi and Democrat Leaders have wasted 306 days trying to write a single spending bill, yet they are refusing to allow a single day to read through the 853 page monstrosity that they have come up with. Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Hoyer, Rahm Emanuel, and David Obey are forcing Members of Congress to spend billions of taxpayer dollars without allowing them to know what they are spending it on.
“To corrupt a bill intended to fund veterans’ services with entities like the ‘Thomas Daschle Center for Public Service’ is an insult to those who have worn our nation's uniform. I would hope that Senator Daschle would respectfully request that funding for his center be removed from this bill.
“The actions of Democrat leaders are reckless and it is astounding to see the lengths to which they will go to rip-off taxpayers and American families.”
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