FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
-September 14, 2006 -



STEARNS VOTES FOR GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL SPENDING

HOUSE APPROVES EARMARK REFORM LEGISLATION


WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 - "As member of Congress, I realize that we are spending the taxpayers' money when we vote on spending bills," stated Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Ocala). " Increasingly, funds for special projects, or 'earmarks,' have been added to legislation, sometimes in the middle of the night.  We need to curb these earmarks; projects should go through the appropriations and oversight process.  Members must be held accountable for their projects and these requests must be fully transparent."

Stearns joined the House today in approving H.Res. 1000, which requires the Committee of jurisdiction to list all earmarks included in the bill, along with the name of the member requesting the earmark.  This new requirement will apply to earmarks in authorization, appropriations, and tax legislation. 

Added Stearns, "The federal government spends hundreds of billions every year for grants, contracts, earmarks and loans. Another bill passed yesterday by the House, S. 2590, creates a new federal Web site, a Google-style search engine for federal spending, that will give people ready access to information on the $300 billion in grants issued to some 30,000 organizations annually, and the roughly 1 million contracts exceeding a $25,000 threshold."

For Further Information Please Contact Paul Flusche at 202-225-5744 or Email.

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