Cassidy, Speier Back President's Call For Earmark Transparency

Press Release

Bolstered by President Obama's State of the Union demand that Congress "publish all earmark requests on a single Web site before there's a vote, so that the American people can see how their money is being spent," Congressman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) intensified efforts to pass their sweeping earmark reform bill in the House.

In May 2009, Cassidy and Speier introduced H.Res.440 to improve transparency and accountability in the earmarking process by changing House Rules to strengthen and standardize earmark disclosures, including publishing all earmark requests together in a searchable online database.

"Mr. President, welcome aboard," said Cassidy. "The American people deserve transparency and accountability with every dime of their money the federal government spends, and we're excited to see Presidential leadership on this issue. Earmark reform isn't a partisan crusade; it's a necessary step to restore confidence in government. Putting all earmark requests in a searchable online database will help give the American people, the press, and Congressional watchdog groups the tools they need to hold Congress accountable."

"I applaud President Obama for shining a light on the need for congressional earmark reform," said Speier. "Transparency in government is not a partisan issue and if a Louisiana Republican and a California Democrat can find common ground, there is no reason that all of Congress can't come along. Publicly posting all earmark requests in a way that is easily searchable in one place is the least we can for the American people who demand accountability in how their tax dollars are spent."

In a letter sent today to every member of the House, Cassidy and Speier wrote:

Dear Colleague,

Taxpayers deserve to be able to see where their money is spent. The current practice of disclosing earmarks just before legislation comes to the House floor fails to allow for a full review of all earmarks. It is common for the House to consider bills only hours after their text is released, leaving insufficient time to appropriately vet every earmark before its bill is considered and passed by the House.

Real transparency and accountability will give Members of Congress and American taxpayers ample time to thoroughly review all the earmark requests being made on behalf of individual recipients. To achieve this, we have introduced House Resolution 440, which would:

* Put every earmark request online at the time it is made--giving Congress, taxpayers, the press, and watchdog organizations abundant time to scrutinize each request before Members are called to vote on them;
* Ensure that earmark requests are easy to find on Members' websites and never hidden from view;
* Require any Committee that accepts earmark requests to compile and publicize detailed information about all requests in a searchable online database;
* Prohibit consideration of legislation containing an earmark that does not meet these transparency standards.
* This legislation is supported by Taxpayers for Common Sense and the Sunlight Foundation.

If you have any questions or would like to cosponsor this bipartisan resolution to make all earmarks and earmark requests completely transparent, please contact either of our offices.

Sincerely,

Bill Cassidy
Jackie Speier

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