December 13, 2007

Hackett To Carney: Stop Wasting The Taxpayers' Money

USA Today Article Shows Chris Carney the Biggest Earmarker of all House Freshmen This Year

DALLAS, PA - Republican congressional candidate Chris Hackett (PA-10) today denounced Congressman Chris Carney's wasteful spending, noting the release of a USA Today report that declares Carney to be the biggest recipient of earmarks among first-year U.S. Representatives.

"Wasteful spending has gotten completely out of control in Washington, and Chris Carney is part of the problem. As the article in USA Today clearly shows, Chris Carney has indeed become the Prince of Pork," Hackett said.

"Chris Carney voted for thousands of wasteful spending earmarks in 2007, including legislation (HR 1591) that threatened funding for our troops in combat by insisting upon multi-million dollar earmarks for peanut storage, tropical fish, and spinach production. None of these expenditures benefit our local economy, but the pork spending game demands Carney must waste billions of taxpayer dollars in order to get a much-smaller scattering of projects for our district," Hackett continued.

"The process by which Washington spends our money is wrong. Chris Carney clearly isn't willing to stand up to the special interests and demand accountability to the taxpayers, but I am. Chris Carney isn't willing to tell the leadership of his party that their wasteful spending does not reflect the values of Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania, but I am. Chris Carney simply agrees with all this reckless spending, but I certainly don't. Chris Carney ran on a promise to change the way Congress does business, but in less than a year he has become another cog in the wasteful spending machine," Hackett added.

"Send me to Congress and I'll fight to stop the pork spending game. Taxpayers in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania can count on me to fight Washington special interests and end wasteful spending," Hackett concluded.