Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today applauded President Bush’s proposals to further restrict congressional earmarks, balance the budget by 2012, and make the tax cuts permanent. 

In an editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal, the President wrote, “One important message I took away from the election is that people want to end the secretive process by which Washington insiders are able to slip into legislation billions of dollars of pork-barrel projects that have never been reviewed or voted on by Congress.”  At a Rose Garden appearance, he elaborated, “Congress needs to adopt real reform that requires full disclosure of the sponsors, the costs, the recipients and the justifications for every earmark. Congress needs to stop the practice of concealing earmarks in so-called report language.  And Congress needs to cut the number and cost of earmarks next year by at least half.”  The President also called for a line-item veto.

“The President’s proposals closely follow the earmark reforms that CAGW has pushed for years,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “These changes are essential for reducing corruption and waste in Washington.  Budget reform is also key to achieving a balanced budget.”

In September 2006, the Republican-led House passed an internal rule change requiring disclosure of some earmarks and their sponsors.  That rule had almost no impact and expired at the end of the year.  House Democrats are proposing an ethics package as part of their “first 100 hours” agenda that includes the following reforms:  Allowing more time for members to read a bill’s contents before a vote; requiring disclosure of earmarks and their sponsors; and prohibiting members from requesting earmarks that benefit themselves or their spouses.

“Both Republicans and the Democrats have good proposals on how to make the budget process more transparent and accountable.  The challenge will be to incorporate the best of both worlds into any final legislation or rules changes,” Schatz concluded.    

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.