Washington, DC – Last week, Congress sent to the President H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.  After the House rejected an earlier version of the bill, the Senate passed a different compromise package containing several new sections, including provisions to increase FDIC insurance limits and to protect middle-class taxpayers from the AMT.  Unfortunately, the Senate also added several unrelated tax breaks for targeted industries and specific geographic areas – a process akin to earmark or “pork-barrel” spending.  When the House began consideration of the Senate-passed bill, U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13th) joined with Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH-14) and several other Republican colleagues to offer an amendment that would strip unrelated tax breaks from the bill.
 
           “We fought hard for weeks to put more taxpayer protections in this bill – not less,” said Biggert, who declared a personal moratorium earmarks last year.  “I find it very disturbing that the Senate felt they needed to attach these unrelated tax breaks.  Some of them may be appropriate, but they should be given a full and fair debate and not forced through as part of unrelated, emergency legislation.”
 
           Unlike in the Senate, House procedures allow the Rules Committee to decide whether or not a particular amendment will receive a vote in the full House.  Prior to floor debate, Biggert, LaTourette, and others petitioned the Rules Committee to permit a vote on their amendment (#3) to remove extraneous tax provisions.  The Committee voted against their request by a margin of 4 to 8.
 
           “This is just one more example of why we need to reform the earmark process,” said Biggert.  “The American people should be able to trust that their dollars are being spent in a responsible, transparent way.”
 
           Taxpayers for Common Sense, a non-partisan watchdog group dedicated to cutting wasteful spending has compiled a list of several tax provisions added to H.R. 1424 in the Senate.  To view the list, click here.  To view amendments considered by the Committee on Rules for H.R. 1424, click here.

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