House Republicans Adopt A Ban On Pork Projects!

Friends,

I have some exciting news!  Yesterday we won a huge battle in the war against out-of-control spending, as the Republican members of Congress voted to ban every Republican from requesting pork projects for the rest of the 111th Congress.

That's right - the pork-barrel spending process, where billions of dollars are secretly doled out every year - has been banned by Republicans in the U.S. House.

As you may know, since 2007, I have taken an annual pledge to never request a pork project and to always vote against them.

In the last few years, myself and just 31 other members of Congress have taken the "no pork pledge," and we have been pushing the rest of the Republican members to do the same.  We finally got our vote yesterday, and I'm proud to say that the Republican Party is, in no uncertain terms, leading the way towards fiscal responsibility and an ethical appropriations process in Congress.

Unfortunately, the Democrats in Congress still allow themselves to request pork projects, but I am currently working on legislation that will give them a chance to agree to a pork project ban for the entire Congress.  I'll keep you posted on any progress with that effort.

Sincerely,

Dan Burton

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              CONTACT: John Donnelly
March 11, 2010                                                                                        (317) 848-0201

BREAKING NEWS: Burton, RSC Ban On All Earmarks Adopted By House GOP Conference

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05), co-founder of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), issued the following statement about the RSC's successful effort to get all Republicans in the U.S. House to adopt a ban on all earmarks for one year.  The measure was adopted at a House Republican Conference meeting late this morning:

"Because of the irresponsible spending and public outrage over largess in Congress, I have sworn to not request, and to vote against, earmarks since 2007.  Until today, I was one of just thirty-two members of Congress to take that pledge.  Today, with the entire conference of House Republicans adopting our ban on all earmarks, we have sent a clear message to the American people that we are serious about cutting spending, and serious about an ethical appropriations process in Congress."

Background:
Rep. Dan Burton and the RSC "no earmark" team sent a request to Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence on February 23, 2010, to convene a meeting for the purpose of holding a conference wide vote on adopting a one-year ban on all earmarks for Republicans in the U.S. House.  The measure was passed in a meeting shortly before noon today.

Click here to see the original signers of the no earmark pledge:
http://rsc.tomprice.house.gov/Solutions/swearingoffpork.htm

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