Press Releases

Concord N.H. – Today, Paul Hodes released the following statement calling on Washington to end the practice of earmarked spending:

“Just like struggling middle class New Hampshire families who have been forced to cut back on family expenses, the federal government needs to take a hard look at growing deficits and do a lot more to cut wasteful spending.  Today, I have informed local organizations that I will no longer request earmarks, and I will urge the Congress to end this practice immediately.  We can’t afford a single extra dollar going for spending that is too often ethically tainted and fiscally irresponsible.  

 “The earmark system is broken, and too often it has been abused by special interests in Washington.  I have worked on New Hampshire’s behalf to fix this broken system: I have held myself to a higher standard than others, worked to end the abuses, moved to cut overall spending, and have been proud of the resources that I have brought back to New Hampshire. But it is clear that continuing earmark spending under a broken system at a time when deficits are at record highs produces too much waste, and flies in the face of the sacrifices Granite Staters continue to make for their families' well being.  I will continue to focus on creating jobs in New Hampshire and putting a stop to wasteful Washington spending.” 

Hodes has a history of fighting for New Hampshire values – working to both dismantle pay-for-play earmark spending and reduce the federal deficit.  To reduce the growing deficit, Hodes has made several proposals, in addition to calling for an end to earmark spending.  Last year, Hodes introduced a proposal which would cap all federal discretionary spending and index it to inflation.  Hodes has also fought for an end to the billions in bank bailouts, proposing to channel all bailout money towards paying down debt.

In 2009, Hodes introduced the CLEAR Act, which would permanently sever the link between political donations and earmark requests; which has spurred numerous criminal and Congressional investigations into Washington Republicans and Democrats alike. 

###