U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland voted today to change U.S. House rules to require that spending bills list all earmarks and the name of the member requesting the project. The rule changed passed the House because of overwhelming Republican support for the measure.
“This is a modest but symbolic victory for spending restraint,” Westmoreland said. “I’m not convinced that this is going to save a lot of money but it brings transparency and accountability to the process.
“If members are going to request money for projects from taxpayers, they should be willing to publicly stand by that request. Let’s hope that we’ll at least bring some shame to the process so that we can eliminate some of the more ridiculous or highly expensive projects that waste taxpayer dollars.”
