House Republicans Appoint Members to Earmark Reform Committee
Boehner, Cantor Urge Democratic Leaders to Follow Suit by Naming Their Own 10 Members to the Panel Before the Beginning of the New Congress Next Month
Washington,
Dec 19, 2008 -
House Republicans today announced the 10 Members of an earmark reform panel established last month by the House GOP during organizational meetings for the 111th Congress, and urged House Democratic leaders to follow suit by naming 10 of their own Members to the panel in order to begin a bipartisan dialogue on earmark reform. The panel is charged with filing a report no later than February 16, 2009 with recommendations for changing Washington’s broken spending practices.
“Members of this panel have a straightforward but serious responsibility: thoughtfully examining the way Washington spends taxpayer dollars and recommending the next steps for reform,” said House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH). “Earlier this year, my Republican colleagues and I invited our Democratic counterparts to join us in seeking ways to bring meaningful change to Congress’ flawed spending practices. Unfortunately, they declined. House Republicans then unilaterally adopted a series of earmark reforms, such as ending ‘monuments to me’ and stopping the practice of ‘airdropping’ earmarks into legislation at the very last minute to avoid scrutiny. The purpose of this committee is to identify ways in which Congress can build upon those reforms.”
Boehner continued, “I urge Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership to join us in this effort by naming 10 Members from their own caucus to this panel before the start of the new Congress. For Washington to truly change its approach to spending taxpayers’ hard-earned money, both parties must be at the table and committed to genuine reform.”
“It’s no secret that Washington is broken, no more so than in the areas of government spending and the ‘earmarking’ process,” noted House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA). “The American people have spoken out against this outrageous practice and the abuse of their taxpayer dollars. House Republicans have listened and are working for reform of the broken ‘earmarking’ system through the creation of the Earmark Reform Committee. It is my hope that House Democrats heed the call of their constituents and join us in this necessary endeavor. It’s time to make Washington work for the people again, instead of the other way around.”
The select committee’s work will also be supported by a website, located at http://earmarkreform.house.gov, that allows citizens to submit comments and suggestions for reforming the earmark process in Congress.
Republican members appointed to the Select Committee on Earmark Reform include:
- Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Chair
- Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX)
- Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
- Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA)
- Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)
- Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)
- Rep. John Mica (R-FL)
- Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID)
- Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN)
In early 2008, House Republicans unilaterally adopted a series of earmark reforms, including a ban on taxpayer-funded “monuments to me” (earmarks for projects named after the members sponsoring them) and a ban on the practice of “airdropping” earmarks into final bills at the last moment to minimize scrutiny. Republicans also proposed a bipartisan moratorium and panel on earmarks. The Democratic majority rejected the proposal and declined to follow the GOP in adopting the same bans.
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