Walberg Weekly Wrap-Up

Press Release

WALBERG WEEKLY WRAP-UP

Honoring Our Veterans

This weekend, as we honor the sacrifice and service of veterans who have bravely defended our freedoms, I look forward to participating in remembrances across the district.

The House voted on four important bills this week that will ensure our veterans are receiving thorough medical care when they return home from the battlefield.

One bill extends the term of free health care for returning service members from two years to five years, a change that will help veterans who may have health problems that do not become apparent until well after their military discharge.

Two others require chiropractic care to be available at all VA medical centers by 2011 and fund a grant program for state veterans outreach programs to better communicate with veterans.

A final program would authorize new research centers for traumatic brain injury and mandate a comprehensive program for treating traumatic brain injuries at health centers operated by the VA.

It is the least we can do to provide the highest quality medical care to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces when they are injured defending the freedoms we enjoy.

Working Against Pork Barrel Spending

In addition to recent scandals that have diminished the reputation of Congress, runaway federal spending over the past few years has left the average taxpayer questioning if anyone in Washington, D.C. knows how to control the pull of the purse strings.

The American people want men and women in Congress who follow through with their commitments, are accountable to the people they serve and maintain the highest of ethical standards.

Part of this process of reform means putting an end to pork-barrel earmark spending.

Earmarks, special state or local projects tacked onto federal legislation, are not inherently bad but have come to symbolize the culture of corruption that has engulfed Washington, D.C.

Research compiled by Congressional Research Service revealed that in 1994, federal spending bills contained 4,126 earmarks. In 2005, that number had grown to 15,877.

Most of these earmarks are for projects completely unrelated to the spending bills they are placed in.

I came to Congress at the beginning of this year not to maintain the status quo in Washington, D.C., but to work for real, substantive reform on how Congress spends taxpayer dollars.

That's why I co-sponsored the Line-Item Veto Act, which would have a chilling effect on those who request pork-barrel spending projects and bring greater transparency into the process.

Two weeks ago, fellow Michigander Congressman Mike Rogers offered an amendment to the 2008 Intelligence Authorization Act that would have eliminated the funding of an egregious earmark for a project in the district of House Defense Appropriations chairman John Murtha (D-PA).

According to an article in The Hill on May 8, 2007, Murtha's wasteful spending project would allocate millions of dollars for the National Drug Intelligence Center, a government office deemed "an expensive and duplicative use of scarce federal drug enforcement resources" by the House Government Reform Committee.

When confronted by Congressman Rogers about his earmark request, Congressman Murtha responded with a profanity-laced tirade against Congressman Rogers and told him he would never again have an earmark request granted, a direct violation of House rules.

Together, Democrats and Republicans must seize this opportunity and use it to enact real reform that values how taxpayer dollars are being spent.

I believe that by limiting the size and scope of government, working to eliminate government waste and making certain taxpayer dollars go to meaningful programs, Congress can restore public trust and build a better, brighter future for our country.

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