Secrecy And Neglect Replace Earmark Transparency

Floor Speech

SECRECY AND NEGLECT REPLACE EARMARK TRANSPARENCY -- (House of Representatives - June 13, 2007)

(Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to make a pledge to the American people. I pledge to fight secrecy in the Federal spending process. It seems that some Democratic lawmakers would like to keep earmarks in spending bills secret until August, months after the House votes on the bills that will contain the requests.

By air-dropping these earmarks in at the last minute, my Democratic colleagues are effectively cutting off debate on potentially wasteful or controversial items.

Instead of the transparency and accountability they promised, the Democrats' spending bills will essentially include a slush fund for billions of dollars in earmarks hidden from public scrutiny. I honestly can't believe it. These taxpayer-backed slush funds will fund earmarks without actually putting them into the bills before the House votes.

This is dangerous turf. Americans don't want more secrecy; they want less. As the Baltimore Sun wrote yesterday, the Democrats' new rules have ``made the process exponentially worse.''

Mr. Speaker, we must restore accountability to the process lest the path to corruption is paved smooth by secrecy and neglect.

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