Posted by
Rich on Thursday, February 07, 2008 7:08:15 PM
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL 13) voted today in support of legislation imposing an immediate moratorium on earmarks and creating a bipartisan panel to identify ways to change the spending process in Congress. The Congressman is a co-sponsor of the legislation, which failed to pass the House by a vote of 204-196.
“Last-minute, back-room deals have wasted taxpayer dollars and eroded public confidence in Congress,” Buchanan said. “We need real reform to restore public confidence and eliminate wasteful spending.”
Last year, Buchanan introduced the “Earmark Accountability and Reform Act” (H.R. 1375) to ban last minute, backroom deals and grant the President a constitutional line-item veto to reduce spending and prevent abuse.
“I am not opposed to federal funding for fully disclosed and worthwhile public projects,” he said, “but I am opposed to secrecy and lack of accountability in how taxpayer dollars are spent.”