WASHINGTON, D.C. – Similar to an effort President-elect Barack Obama announced in a press event today, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill simultaneously requested that Senate leadership provide sufficient oversight and accountability measures and forgo pork barrel projects in any plans for an economic recovery package.  McCaskill sent a letter to Senate leadership and the leadership of the Senate Appropriations Committee, echoing Obama’s call to keep earmarks out of the package and listing several provisions she would like to see included in the economic recovery package to ensure transparency and accountability in the spending of taxpayer dollars.

Washington, D.C. – As Congress gets to work in the New Year, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today reached across the aisle with Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to colleagues Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) to introduce a major earmark reform bill that would cut down on wasteful government spending.  The bipartisan group introduced the Fiscal Discipline, Earmark Reform, and Accountability Act of 2009, which would take aggressive steps to prevent pork barrel funding in appropriations bills without transparency and congressional approval. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than two months after Congress approved a $700 billion rescue plan, questions about the program’s oversight have remained.  But today, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill that would strengthen government oversight of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) plan approved by Congress in October.  The bill would put in place provisions to better monitor how the $700 billion dollars are spent by increasing the power and authority of the Special Inspector General created to oversee the program.  McCaskill introduced the bill along with one of her Republican colleagues, Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa.