Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Ninth District, IL


 
 

 

 
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Statement

 

October 3, 2006
 
SCHAKOWSKY CALLS FOR TOUGH EARMARK REFORM
WASHINGTON, DC -Today Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), ranking member on the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection stated her support for the Honest Leadership Open Government Act and real earmark reform:

I believe that banning all earmarks would cut off funding to valid, important projects around the country and in our district.  However, I believe much more needs to be done to root out earmark abuse.  These provisions, often slipped into legislation at the last minute, can carry huge price tags and are a profound misuse of the public trust.  I am a cosponsor of H.R. 4682, the Honest Leadership Open Government Act of 2006, a lobbying reform bill that includes tough earmark reform.  The bill would require detailed information about the sponsor of each earmark, require information about the intended recipient of each earmark, disclose whether a Member of Congress has a financial interest in an earmark, and make all this information available to the public.

I believe that the Honest Leadership Open Government Act would be a major step forward in curbing earmark abuse. But I also believe that we need legislation that would keep a Member of Congress, their family, or their family’s employer from personally benefiting from an earmark; keep any tax measure from benefiting one individual, corporation or entity; and prohibit the last-minute inclusion of earmarks in conference reports.

Unfortunately, House Resolution 1000, providing for earmarking reform in the House of Representatives, which passed the House of Representatives, did not meaningfully address earmark abuse.  I opposed H. Res. 1000 because it only requires a list of the sponsors of earmarks in reported bills; it does not apply to earmarks included later in the process (like the Alaskan “Bridge to Nowhere”); and it does not apply to targeted tariff and tax provisions that benefit specific companies or industries.

Americans pay the price when Members of Congress include earmarks in legislation that are not legitimate, productive funds for their districts.  As a longtime advocate for consumer protection, I look forward to enacting real earmark reform to stop this destructive practice.




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