Pay down the debt with earmark ban savings (Rep. Chris Lee)

Last week, Republicans in the House of Representatives took an important step in returning fiscal responsibility back to Congress by self-imposing a one-year moratorium on appropriations earmarks. Republicans supported taking this initiative because we understand that America’s fiscal condition is reaching a crisis point.

However, it is not enough to simply stop seeking earmarks for local priorities only to see those tax dollars spent elsewhere, and that’s why days after House Republicans enacted our earmark moratorium I wrote to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (and was joined by 38 of my Republican colleagues) in asking that: 1) Democrats enact a similar earmark moratorium, and 2) Congress use these savings to pay down our $12.5 trillion national debt. To give some perspective on just how significant of savings this would be, appropriations projects for members of both parties cost nearly $16 billion in fiscal year 2010, according to the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Spending and debt are growing beyond control. Our $12.5 trillion national debt is the highest it’s ever been in our nation’s proud history, and according to projections by the Obama Administration, it is on course to exceed the size of America’s economy by 2012. As Americans everywhere know, and Republicans in the House understand, the time to rein in spending is long past due.

The decision by House Republicans to enact a one-year moratorium on earmark requests is a rare opportunity to change the culture of Washington spending and fundamentally reform how Congress spends taxpayer money. I hope Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats will join with us in this moratorium and together show the American people that both Republicans and Democrats are committed to real spending reform and reducing our skyrocketing national debt. While the argument may be that the $16 billion spent on earmarks (according to last year’s figures) is a drop in the bucket in President Obama’s $3.8 trillion budget, we need to cut costs wherever we can to decrease our massive debt.

Out-of-control spending and earmark controversies within both parties have undermined public confidence in government. I haven’t been in Congress long, but it’s not hard to realize that Americans do not believe Washington is listening to them and their demands for fiscal sanity. This has to change. Americans are used to doing more with less, and it’s time their government does the same.