Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today expressed support for efforts by House Republicans for filing a discharge petition on H. Res. 479, which would guarantee that all earmarks, including those in tax and authorizing bills, are publicly disclosed and subject to challenge on the floor of the House. 

CCAGW President Tom Schatz urged all Members of Congress to sign the discharge petition and to vote in favor of the bill on the floor, particularly the so-called “Blue Dog Democrats,” many of whom ran for office and won on a pledge to make the earmark process more open and accountable to taxpayers.

“The Democratic Leadership came galloping into Congress in January, 2007, guns blazing, promising to clean up this town.  Since then, they have defied calls for a completely accountable and open process that would publicly disclose and debate all earmarks.  The current rules do not allow members to force a debate on suspected earmarks, particularly in non-appropriations bills, that reach the floor.  As a result, taxpayers are still burdened with secretive and corruptive pork-barreling,” said Schatz.

Some of the worst pork is found in authorization bills.  The 2005 highway authorization bill, SAFTEA-LU, which included more than 6,300 earmarks worth $24 billion – including the infamous “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska – is a prime example.  But at least that project was easily found.  “Now porkers on Capitol Hill are using cryptic language to hide their wasteful spending and at the same time, denying it exists.  The current House rules prevent any member from challenging the secret earmarks,” Schatz added. 

These cleverly hidden earmarks are found primarily in authorization and tax bills.  In the recently passed House version of the reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program Act, hundreds of millions of dollars were funneled to specific hospitals and health care providers.  If enacted, some of the provisions in that bill will allow a hospital that may be located in a rural area to claim that it is located in a major city, such as New York, in order to obtain higher Medicare payments than they would normally qualify for if they used their address.  “If Democratic leaders are serious about running the most open and ethical Congress in history, they should move H. Res. 479 to the floor for a vote right away,” Schatz concluded.

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.