McClintock Proposes Ending Congressional Earmarks

Washington, DC — With Republicans taking over leadership of the US House of Representatives, Mother Lode Congressman McClintock is putting forward a proposal to reign in government spending.

McClintock took to the US House floor to argue that the country is in a time of “unprecedented fiscal peril” and “Republicans must reclaim the mantle of fiscal integrity and fiscal responsibility.”

He went on to state, “We should start by renouncing the tawdry, corrupt and irresponsible practice of Congressional earmarks in which individual Congressmen direct spending to pet projects in their districts, or grants to favored supporters, bypassing merit driven competition.”

Continuing, “I propose to the House Republican Conference a rule forbidding Congressional earmarks and expect to vote on it when we return after Thanksgiving.”

McClintock says that most Congressional scandals over recent years have involved earmarks or so-called “pork barrel” spending. He noted that the last federal omnibus spending bill included 5,000 earmarks totaling $9-billion.