7th District Lawmaker Will Forgo Earmarks Requests Citing Current Fiscal Constraints and Growing Debt

WASHINGTON — Congressman Leonard Lance said today he will not seek earmarks in the fiscal year 2011 federal budget, citing current fiscal constraints and the mounting national debt. Lance called on all members of Congress to join him in this moratorium.

“Out-of-control congressional spending has outraged the American people and eroded public confidence in this institution. Both political parties bear responsibility for this failure. It’s time for all Republicans and Democrats to join the few on both sides of the aisle in support of a moratorium on unauthorized congressional earmarks,” Lance concluded.

Lance said he would still help seek money for district projects as long as the funding has been budgeted and is part of a competitive process — fire and safety grants and flood control assistance, for example. But the Seventh District lawmaker is calling on all of his colleagues in Congress to join him in a moratorium on unauthorized earmarks.

Critics of the moratorium say that earmarks account for only about $20 billion in annual federal spending — about two percent of the national budget. Lance says the issue is bigger than that.

“I am fully aware that just eliminating earmarks alone will not solve our tremendous budget woes. However with our national debt at nearly $13 trillion and spending at an all-time high I believe an earmark moratorium will send the proper message to the American people that Congress is serious about reducing spending. This fiscal restraint would come as welcome relief to the everyday taxpayer.”

Congressman Lance is the sponsor of a fiscal package to limit federal spending and reduce our Nation’s ever-growing debt and deficits. Visit lance.house.gov/debt for more information.

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