Editor's Note: Each week, U.S. Reps. Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt will provide a blog relating to issues in Washington D.C. This is Moran's blog entry for this week:
It gives me great satisfaction to announce the House Republican Caucus voted to place a moratorium on all earmarks. Spending in Washington is out of control, it has been for a long time, and it is great that we have finally made the right decision to place a ban on these earmarks. I have long fought to curb spending in Washington; voting against every bailout and stimulus package. I was one of only 17 Republicans to do so. I will continue this fight still.
I was joined by more than thirty House members - including fellow Kansas Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins - in demanding Republican leadership consider a ban on earmarks. Even though we faced significant opposition within the Republican Caucus, commonsense and principled leadership prevailed over the "business as usual" crowd.
I was pleased to join my colleague Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ) - the leading advocate in the House on earmark reform. Rep. Flake even said after the Republican Conference vote: “Given our fiscal record while we were in the majority, I don’t blame taxpayers for not trusting Republicans again with the federal purse strings. But there’s no better way to demonstrate that we have seen the error of our way than to impose a moratorium on earmarks this year. That’s the first step in regaining the taxpayers’ trust, and this effort wouldn’t have been successful without Congressman Moran’s leadership.”
A full ban on earmarks shows that we are serious about restoring fiscal discipline and standing up against questionable earmarking practices. Kansans expect their government to spend less and spend wiser and this ban will help change the way Washington does business.
