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Good
morning
folks
-
I
take
seriously
the
responsibility
you
have
entrusted
me
with
to
cut
reckless
spending
in
our
federal
government. That's
why,
every
month,
I
research
and
identify
areas
of
waste,
abuse
and
inefficiencies
in
Washington
and
present
my Squeal
Award,
which
recognizes
an
expense,
program
or
concept
that
has
proven
to
be
wasteful.
Continue
reading
to
learn
more
about
what
all
goes
into
cutting
wasteful
spending
in
the
federal
government…
Squeal
Award:
Congressional
Earmarks
I
firmly
believe
that
pork
belongs
on
your dining
room
table
and not
in
legislation;
especially
when
it
comes
to congressional
earmarks
that
have
no
place
in
Congress.
An
earmark
is
any
congressionally
directed
spending
item,
tax
benefit,
or
tariff
benefit
targeted
to
a
specific
recipient
or
group
of
beneficiaries.
For
decades,
congressional
earmarks
were
used
as
part
of
backroom
deals
to
try
to
sweeten
bills
so
members
of
Congress
would
vote
for
them
or to appease
special
interest
groups.
This
practice,
also
called
“pork
barreling”,
is
a
reckless
and
wasteful
use
of
taxpayer
dollars.
Take
for
example
$1.9
million
tucked
away
in
a
2009
transportation
appropriation
bill
for
a
water
taxi
in
Pleasure
Beach,
Connecticut,
or
$190,000
hidden
in
the
Legislative
Appropriations
Act
of
2009
for
the
digitization
of
the
New
York
Historical
Society
Collection.
And
who
could
forget
the
famous
“Bridge
to
Nowhere”
–
a
$223
million
bridge
to
an
Alaskan
island
that
is
home
to
only
50
people. This
is
reckless,
irresponsible,
and
has
no
place
in
the
bills
they
were
snuck
into.
In
2010,
Congress
put
in
effect
a
moratorium
on
earmarks
to
improve
transparency;
however, it
was
not made permanent. Last
month,
the
House
Rules
Committee
held
hearings
in
which
they
considered
lifting
this
moratorium
and
bring
earmarks
back.
Earmarks
cannot
and
should
not
be
part
of
our
legislative
process
–
period.
That’s
why
I joined
a
bipartisan
group
of
Senators in introducing
the
Earmark
Elimination
Act,
which
would
permanently
ban
earmarks.
Ensuring
that
this
tactic can
never
be
used
again
will
promote
much-needed
transparency
within
the
legislative
process
and
put
us
on
a
better
track toward
reigning
in
our out-of-control spending.
I'm
presenting
this
month's
Squeal
Award
to
corrupt
congressional
earmarks
and
will
continue
my
efforts
to
cut
the
congressional
pork
and
safeguard
your
hard-earned
dollars.
Do
you
have
an
example
of
government
waste
or
inefficiencies
that
I
should
take
a
look
at?
Send
me
an
email
by clicking
here.
Thank
you!
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