February 21, 2008
Chris Hackett Challenges Carney And Primary Opponents To Fight Wasteful Earmark Spending
Hackett signs anti-earmark pledge, unveils new TV ad on wasteful spending
Dallas, PA – Republican Congressional candidate Chris Hackett today challenged all candidates for Congress in Pennsylvania's 10th District, both incumbent Democrat Chris Carney, and his two Republican primary opponents, to join him in signing the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) Earmark Reform Pledge.
The CAGW Earmark Reform Pledge is a series of ten statements in which signers promise to fully disclose their requested earmarks or special tax breaks on their official websites and greatly reduce the number of earmarks and the amount spent on them through a series of reforms.
Altogether there were some 9,000 earmarks in this year's spending bills, and $28 billionmore was spent than what was in the President's budget.
"We need to work to restore confidence in our elected officials and establish a commitment to be as fiscally responsible with citizens' tax dollars as they are with their paychecks. The only answer is an open, transparent, and honest process. This cannot be achieved within the current earmark system," Hackett said in a letter to his opponents.
"When elected to Congress, I will not only abide by this pledge, but will fight to end the corrupt earmarking process altogether. The CAGW pledge is only a good starting point, a minimal effort that I would think all candidates could easily join me in supporting if they are truly opposed to wasteful pork spending," Hackett added.
The Hackett campaign also released a new television ad highlighting the vital need to protect taxpayers and reign in Washington spending. The ad specifically cites Chris Carney's votes to spend billions of taxpayer dollars on wasteful items like a Mule Museum in California, fruit fly research in France, and thousands of other pork projects. In "Waste," Hackett promises to change the Washington pork-spending game so taxes can be cut and jobs created in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania.
"Chris Carney's record on pork-spending threatens job creation in our district. Instead of voting for billions of dollars in wasteful earmarks in an effort to buy his re-election with our tax dollars, Carney should be helping the economy by controlling spending and cutting taxes. Instead of good jobs, we got the biggest tax increase in history and the $2 million Charles Rangel Center for Public Service in Harlem. Chris Carney voted for all of that," declared Hackett.
"Chris Carney needs to get out of the pork-spending game and focus on creating a good environment for job creation. By signing the CAGW pledge and forsaking future wasteful earmarks, he can show that he is serious about helping the working families in our district," Hackett concluded.
Click here to see Chris Hackett's letter to Chris Carney challenging him to sign the pledge. (PDF, 1.78 MB)
Click here to see the anti-earmark pledge that Chris Hackett signed and has challenged his opponents to sign as well. (PDF, 460 KB)
Click here to watch the new Chris Hackett television ad, "Waste."