Cassidy, Speier Introduce Earmark Transparency Act

Statement

Answering President Obama's State of the Union call for "Congress to publish all earmark requests on a single Web site before there's a vote," Louisiana Congressman Bill Cassidy (R) and California Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D) introduced the Earmark Transparency Act to strengthen and standardize earmark disclosure rules in Congress.

"Transparency, accountability, and oversight are the keys to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse in government," said Cassidy. "Putting all earmarks in a searchable website gives taxpayers, the press, and Congressional watchdog groups real-time access to the information they need to hold Congress accountable."

"Today is a good day for American taxpayers and everyone who values open, accountable and transparent government," said Speier. "The American people demand accountability in how their tax dollars are spent, and establishing fully searchable databases on all earmark requests by members of Congress is a step in the right direction."

"The Sunlight Foundation commends Representatives Cassidy and Speier for introducing the Earmark Transparency Act, legislation that will vastly improve the way information about earmarks is disclosed by unifying all earmark requests in one single database," said Ellen Miller, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation. "This legislation will create real earmark reform that will empower constituents to be able to simply follow the money to see for themselves how their representatives are directing federal spending."

As the President prescribed, The Earmark Transparency Act directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate to establish a searchable online database to catalogue and detail each earmark requested by a Member of Congress. The website created by the Earmark Transparency Act would allow taxpayers to:

* search, sort, aggregate, and download all earmark data on the website;
* determine through a single search the total number and dollar value of earmarks requested and secured by an individual Member of Congress;
* access the website from the homepage of the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate.

Specifically, the law requires that the database include:

* the fiscal year in which the earmark would be funded;
* the bill number and section of the bill in which the request is made;
* the amount of the initial request;
* the amount approved by the Committee of jurisdiction;
* the amount approved in final legislation;
* the name of the department or agency, and the account or program, through which the entity will receive the funding;
* the name and state or district of the requestor or requestors;
* the name and address of any beneficiary designated to receive appropriations;
* the type of organization (public, private non-profit, or private for-profit entity);
* the project name, description and estimated completion date;
* the justification explaining how the earmark would benefit taxpayers;
* an indication of whether the earmark is a continuing project and if so, how long it has received congressional funding;
* a description, if applicable, of all non-Federal sources of funding for the earmark; and
* the status of the earmark in the legislative process, including any changes in the final dollar amount.

The Earmark Transparency Act also establishes a point of order to prohibit consideration of any bill, joint resolution, or conference report that includes earmarks that are not disclosed as the law specifies.

Reps. Cassidy and Speier introduced The Earmark Transparency Act as the House companion bill to similar legislation introduced today by Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), John McCain (R-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Russ Feingold (D-WI).

BACKGROUND
The introduction of the Earmark Transparency Act continues a bipartisan partnership between Reps. Cassidy and Speier to bring greater transparency to the earmarking process. For more information:

* "Lawmakers pushing for earmark reform think Obama boosted their chances," The Hill, 01.30.10, http://bit.ly/9UYqha
* "Cassidy, Speier Back President's Call For Earmark Transparency," Press Release, 01.28.10, http://bit.ly/dnZqaU
* "Lawmakers want to make earmarks easy to find online," The Hill, 05.14.09, http://bit.ly/begkds
* "Closing the Earmark Disclosure Loopholes," Sunlight Foundation, 05.14.09 http://bit.ly/ATREG
* "Cassidy, Speier Introduce Bill To Strengthen Online Earmark Disclosure," Press Release, 05.14.09 http://bit.ly/5MpvMa

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