Administration officials have argued that their earmarks are more fully vetted because they are sent with the president’s proposed budget.
Yet Republican appropriators such as Reps. Robert Aderholt (Ala.) and David Hobson (R-Ohio) and Sen. Larry Craig (Idaho) last year called Bush’s rhetoric inconsistent with his actions.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (Texas) is expected to issue his own challenge to senior members of the conference to lead by example and swear off earmarking. Citing the growing number of GOP lawmakers who have pledged personal earmark moratoriums, Hensarling will challenge leadership— including appropriators, ranking members and particularly members of the Republican leadership team — to follow the example set by Boehner and swear off earmarking until integrity is restored to the process.
“Conservatives believe that the earmarking process must be reformed, and Congressman Hensarling believes that it is especially effective to lead by example in that regard, much like Leader Boehner has done,” Hensarling spokesman Brad Dayspring said.
Meantime, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) said, “For six years, President Bush did nothing to curb earmarks and instead presided over an earmark explosion. In just one year, Democrats passed landmark reforms to make the earmark process more transparent and cut earmarks in half…”
A fact sheet provided by the White House said its actions “will effectively end the common practice of concealing earmarks in so-called report language instead of placing them in the actual text of the bill.”
“This means earmarks will be subject to votes, which will better expose them to the light of day and help constrain excessive and unjustified spending,” the fact sheet stated.
“The president decided that he needed to give the Congress a very clear indication of what he was going to do,” Perino stated.
Mike Soraghan contributed to this report.
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