(Washington, D.C.) –Today, Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) sent a letter to President Obama urging him to make good on the promise he made during his 2011 State of the Union address to veto any legislation containing earmarks.  The letter reads in part as follows:

“On behalf of the more than one million members and supporters of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), I want to commend you for taking a firm stance against earmarks in your State of the Union Address.   

“Without hesitation or preconditions, you clearly stated that, “If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it.”  This statement was music to the ears of millions of taxpayers who cannot stand to watch their hard-earned dollars wasted on unnecessary projects, often to the benefit of lawmakers who aim to broker backroom deals, swap votes and woo campaign contributors.  

“As the leading voice for earmark elimination since 1991, CAGW applauds your willingness to veto any legislation containing earmarks and to hopefully put an end to this fiscally irresponsible practice.  However, reports have surfaced claiming you only intend to veto “special interest” earmarks.  We strongly urge you not to backpedal on your promise; any attempt to bend your position or parse your words will be met with strong opposition from taxpayers.

“Citizens Against Government Waste has documented 109,978 earmarks worth $306 billion, including 9,129 earmarks worth $16.5 billion in the 2010 Congressional Pig Book.  Members of Congress have all-too-often characterized earmarks as “small potatoes,” but when 1.4 million taxpayer dollars are being irresponsibly spent on a “competitive potato breeding research program” without any competition, transparency, accountability, or justification, earmarks symbolize government waste and epitomize the broken budgetary process.

“An earmark moratorium has already been adopted by House and Senate Republicans.  Your promise to veto any legislation containing earmarks, if it is fulfilled without exception, is an even more powerful statement of Washington’s willingness to end its pork-barreling addiction. 

“The elections on November 2 showed that Americans are sick and tired of Washington’s profligate behavior.  We would be pleased to work with you to permanently end earmarks.”

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