Congresswoman Jackie Speier was one of 22 Democrats to vote against passage of the omnibus appropriations bill today, citing $3.8 billion in earmarks in the $410 billion spending bill. 

“It is not the dollar amount at issue, but the principle of spending taxpayer dollars without appropriate accountability, transparency or oversight,” Speier said.  “For all the talk of reform, Congress continues to pass spending bills loaded with earmarks without enough time to fully examine where the money is going.” 

Earmarks refer to special funding requests inserted by individual Members of Congress, often with little or no public scrutiny.  Perhaps the most famous was the $398 million earmark for Alaska's "bridge to nowhere" in 2005.

“Americans are demanding that we change the way government operates and the appropriations process is a good place to start.  In my district, I have convened a Citizens Oversight Panel to review all funding requests that come into my office.  The panel, drawn from a cross-section of our community, will examine all applications for federal money and make recommendations to me.  To insure that the process is completely transparent, the applicants must appear before the panel in public and their applications will be posted on my office website.”   

“I am aware there are worthwhile projects that have been earmarked,” Speier said, “but the current process provides too many opportunities for mischief.  At a time when we are asking taxpayers to trust us with hundreds of billions of dollars in economic stimulus spending, it is imperative that every dime spent is done in an open, transparent and upfront manner.”