WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman McCarthy issued the following statement calling on both Republicans and Democrats in Congress to come together and demand more accountability and transparency in Washington through tough earmark reform that the American people deserve:
“Enough is enough. Hardworking American taxpayers and families deserve to know that their Representatives are fighting to prevent their tax dollars from being wasted. That is why I urge my Republican and Democrat colleagues to sign onto a petition to bring to the House floor a vote on H.Res 479, which increases transparency and accountability for all earmarked spending before Congress. Both Republicans and Democrats have called for fiscal accountability. Now it’s time for members of Congress to match their rhetoric with action and sign onto this common sense reform.”
After nine months of looking the other way while abuse after abuse of the earmark system has continued in Congress, a petition was filed today to immediately bring H.Res. 479 to the House floor. Under House rules, if the petition to H.Res. 479 receives support from a majority of Congressmen, H.Res. 479 will be brought to the floor for a vote. When passed, this reform strengthens House rules to ensure all taxpayer-funded earmarks in all congressional bills are publicly disclosed so that they can be subject to challenge and open debate on the House floor.
NOTE: Congressman McCarthy has been leading in the fight to restore fiscal accountability in Washington:
McCarthy Continues to Lead in the Fight for Washington Fiscal Accountability (July 19, 2007)
Congressman McCarthy Challenges the New Democrat Leadership to Release All District Funding Requests (June 27, 2007)
McCarthy Demands More Accountability for Spending Taxpayer Money in Government Funding Bills (June 12, 2007)
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