I want to let you know that today I joined House Republicans in a unilateral agreement to ban earmarks for this year in order to fix the broken process. I did so because the American people have had enough of out-of-control spending in Washington and have called on Congress time and time again to live within its means. The Republican moratorium on earmarks is an important first step toward greater fiscal responsibility. It is time to take a stand and demand real reform in the way Washington does business, and I call on Speaker Pelosi and Democrat Members of Congress to follow the GOP lead in forgoing earmarks.

I have a long standing policy of strict safeguards for the requests I receive that uphold the integrity of the process while allowing me to support funding where the federal government shares a responsibility to our area, such as flood control and ESA-imposed mandates. The projects must have a federal nexus, must advance public health and safety or national security, and must be directed to government agencies rather than private companies. As a result, I have consistently rejected most requests I receive each year because they do not comply with these firm standards. Unfortunately, as we have seen over the years, the larger earmark process has become deeply flawed, is a driving force for waste and corruption and lacks sufficient transparency and accountability. I believe that it is my duty to protect the American taxpayer and to fight for spending restraint and a limited, transparent, and honest government.

Make no mistake, while important, an earmark ban will not be enough on its own. We must enact a strict cap on federal spending and meaningful entitlement reform to eliminate the crushing debt burden facing our children and grandchildren. The American people are making tough decisions with their budgets during this period of economic difficulty, and they should expect nothing less from their representatives in Congress.