Reforming Congressional Pork Barrel Spending
In a press release Friday, the National Taxpayers Union congratulated the House of Representatives for climbing another two rungs of the ladder on their way to reforming pork barrel spending. The vote was 245-171 to change House rules. Unfortunately, Arlington’s Representative Jim Moran voted against the change (roll call vote 449).
The previous day, NTU issued another press release congratulating the House of Representatives for passing their version of Senator Tom Coburn’s bill, S. 2590 (passed unanimously), that would set up a data base for disclosing all federal grants and contracts.
Leading the fight against Congress’ pork barrel spending has been Porkbusters and the Club for Growth. Their websites are well-worth visiting. For additional background on pork barrel spending, see this 2005 Tax & Budget Bulletin (Adobe required) by Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute. Finally, see the editorial in today's DC Examiner, which says President Bush will soon sign S. 2590.