Walberg Weekly Wrap-Up

Press Release

Most Americans are forced by reality to live within their means, pay their bills, spend their money on items of necessity and avoid going into debt because of wasteful spending.

Sadly, a different set of rules seems to apply to the purse strings of the federal government. During the past several years, Congress has gotten away from keeping its fiscal house in order.

Pork-barrel spending and runaway entitlements are driving up the national debt and slowly bankrupting our country. The American people are disgusted by Washington's wasteful, pork-barrel spending. Taxpayers are tired of their hard-earned money paying for things like a bridge to nowhere in Alaska, fruit fly research in France and a hippie museum in New York.

The system used by Congress to identify and fund earmarked projects is fundamentally flawed and needs serious reform. This reform must be open and transparent so Congress can restore the trust of American taxpayers.

Senator Tom Coburn has said, "If we in Congress want to show that we ‘get it,' we need to start going through every federal project, one-by-one, and start cutting out the fat."

With that purpose in mind, I voted Thursday to establish a bi-partisan commission to identify ways to bring more transparency to the spending process. We need such a commission to provide a taxpayer-minded analysis of how Congress spends the people's money.

I have also co-sponsored legislation giving the President line-item veto authority, an important tool in the fight against wasteful spending. This bill would give the President the power to force Congress to vote on specific line items in bills sent to the White House by Congress. Forty-three state governors successfully use it, and it is time we have it at the federal level.

These are small steps, but Republicans and Democrats in the House must work together to balance the budget, reduce the deficit and make certain that taxpayer dollars are going to meaningful programs.

We need members of Congress to stand up for fiscal restraint and lower taxes and end the days of taxing more and spending more.

Taking Away Federal Funds for Berkeley, CA
On January 29, the city council in Berkeley, California announced that a Marine recruiting station in the city's downtown area is no longer welcome.

A city council member labeled any Marine recruiters found in Berkeley after that day "intruders" and declared them "uninvited and unwelcome."

News reports following the city council's decision revealed that the council also gave Code Pink, a well-known anti-war group, a free parking space and a free permit to protest in front of a Berkeley Marine recruiting station.

While I certainly respect the convictions of those who oppose the war in Iraq, I was absolutely astonished to learn about the lack of respect the Berkeley city council has for our men and women serving in the Armed Forces.

On Wednesday, my colleagues and I introduced a bill that would strip over $2 million in earmarks from the city of Berkeley. These earmarks were tucked away in the pork-filled, "all-in-one" budget that passed Congress, despite my opposition, late last year.

One of the earmarks would provide gourmet organic lunches to schools in the Berkeley School District. Another earmark for the city provides nearly $1 million to catalogue the papers of former Congressman Robert Matsui.

As you know, our earmark system is broken and these taxpayer funded earmarks should not go to cities that show contempt for our Marines. The bill would transfer the money from Berkeley to the U.S. Marine Corps.

Regardless of our position on war, we need to be proud of our brave men and women in uniform, honor them and keep them in our prayers.

Source