Vote 'YES' on Amendment #1472 to S. 2038 

January 31, 2012

U.S. Senate
Washington, DC  20510

Dear Senator,

You are considering S. 2038, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012. On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), I urge you to support Amendment #1472 offered by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), which would make permanent the current earmark moratorium that is set to expire at the end of 2012.

When the earmark moratorium was announced for the 112th Congress, taxpayers were hopeful that it would be effective. Of the 16 fiscal year (FY) 2012 appropriations bills that CAGW has analyzed thus far, twelve contain earmarks totaling 251 projects worth $9.6 billion. The FY 2012 Senate version of the Department of Defense appropriations bill includes 49 earmarks worth $2.9 billion and the House version added 72 earmarks worth $3.9 billion.

The Toomey-McCaskill amendment would permanently ban all earmarks, which would be defined as any congressionally directed spending item, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit. The legislation would also create a point of order against an earmark in any bill. A two-thirds vote would be required to waive the point of order and allow the earmark to remain in the bill.

At a time when the national debt has grown to more than $15 trillion, the nation simply cannot afford to waste money through the funding of pork-barrel projects. Taxpayer dollars should be awarded on a basis of merit, not political power.

Sens. Toomey and McCaskill’s efforts to eliminate earmarks have long been promoted by CCAGW as a way to begin to instituting a culture of fiscal discipline in Congress. All votes on Amendment #1472 will be among those considered in CCAGW’s 2012 Congressional Ratings.

Sincerely,

Thomas Schatz,
President