Friday, February 2, 2007


Another Broken Promise...
Democrats Have a Difficult Time with the Truth...When it comes to Earmarks in ‘07

Washington, DC – Rep. Tom Price (GA-06-R) issued the following statement today after Democrats failed to eliminate earmarks in the fiscal year 2007 joint spending resolution.

The Promise:

    “There will be no Congressional earmarks in the joint funding resolution that we will pass.” (Source: Rep. David Obey and Sen. Robert Byrd in a joint press release; December 11, 2006)

The Reality:

    All House Democrats have claimed is how they were going to make spending more transparent and more accountable, starting with eliminating earmarks this year. Unfortunately, they did not follow through since the fiscal year 2007 joint spending resolution contained over $500 million in earmarks. Instead of going the extra step, House Democrats decided not to turn off funding for them. To the contrary, House Republicans offered a plan to eliminate all the earmarks in the spending resolution and dedicate the funding to military housing and drug enforcement.

“Well, they did it again – Democrats are continuing to find out that convenient talking points do not necessarily add up to convenient legislation in Washington,” said Price. “Having swept into power, our friends on the other side of the aisle seem to think that Americans only care about what you say and not what you do. While it may be challenging to live up to the standards one promotes, it is infinitely harder for decent taxpayers to foot their bill.”

“Across the aisle, Republicans asked our colleagues to support a responsible alternative, eliminating these earmarks and targeting funds to military housing and drug enforcement. They chose to ignore it and throw money at a rain forest in Iowa.”

The Solution:

    Positive, Principled, Solution-Oriented Leadership

Democrat Broken Promise Meter: 12

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