In a time when people are increasingly distrustful of government, we have a responsibility to bring meaningful openness and accountability to Congress. In doing so, I believe we can increase public confidence and trust and ensure that our government continues to be responsible to its people.

When the House adopted its rules package for the 110th Congress, we took a great first step towards making the earmarking process more open and transparent. By requiring that critical information about congressional earmarks be open for public inspection, we moved the Congress toward a new standard of accountability and openness.

But to continue this progress towards true transparency, we must go farther. That’s why I have introduced a resolution that would make information on earmarks available on publicly-accessible websites for at least 48 hours before legislation is considered on the floor of the House. By providing American taxpayers with easily accessible information on congressional earmarks, we can bring a new level of transparency and accountability to the earmarking process.

In an effort to make this process even more transparent, I have posted a list of all of the earmarked funding requests I have made for the Fiscal Year 2008. You can view that list by clicking here.

Throughout my time in Congress, I have supported and continue to support efforts to reduce the influence of money in politics. Unfortunately, public cynicism is eating away at voter participation, causing citizens to tune out discussions of very serious issues, and turning a whole generation of young people away from our political system as a means of social change.

This cynicism has only been confirmed by the recent transgressions of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, among others, which have revealed that lobbyists can sometimes overstep their bounds in order to gain more influence in government. That’s why I was a strong supporter of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which became law on September 14, 2007. This legislation, among other things, takes significant steps to reduce the influence that lobbyists have sought to buy through gifts, including meals, tickets, entertainment and travel, and brings needed transparency to the role that lobbyists play in the legislative process.

By making these reforms, elected officials and their staffs must conduct the public’s business in public view. These are important steps to improve congressional ethics standards and to make congressional procedures more transparent and accountable to all Americans.