January 8, 2008

Chris Hackett Urges President Bush To Shut Down Wasteful Pork Spending

DALLAS, PA - Republican Congressional candidate Chris Hackett today called upon President George W. Bush to use his legal authority to not fund nearly 9,000 earmarks included in the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress before the winter recess.

"President Bush has the historic opportunity to end the pork-spending game in Washington, D.C.," Chris Hackett said. "Chris Carney and Congress promised to cut the number of pork spending projects in half this year, but they violated their own rules and failed to deliver on this promise. We have a wonderful system of checks and balances, and I am asking the President to curb Congress' excessive spending by using his legal executive power to shut down these earmarks."

President Bush has several options he can use to fight this wasteful spending, including canceling through executive order all 8,993 earmarks not specifically inserted into the language of the omnibus spending bill, instructing federal agencies to disregard these earmarks and instead spend those dollars on priorities that would benefit all taxpayers, and banning "phone-marking," which occurs when Members of Congress bypass the Congressional process and put political pressure on federal agencies to spend general appropriated money on pet projects.

"Instead of changing Congress' wasteful pork-spending, Chris Carney and his accomplices in Congress have found new ways to circumvent the rules and avoid accountability. They should be ashamed of themselves. Instead of supporting 8,993 earmarks secretly inserted into a committee report accompanying an enormous spending bill less than 16 hours before it is voted on, Carney should be fighting for open votes on projects that benefit out local economy," Hackett added.

"The Washington pork-spending game has to end. The taxpayers deserve a Congressman who will fight this wasteful system and be a real agent for change," Hackett concluded.