Boehner on Bush Executive Order to Ignore Secret Earmarks

Via email:

Congressman John Boehner (R-OH) today praised President Bush for ordering federal agencies to disregard hundreds of millions of dollars worth of hidden earmarks that are in line to be funded through the massive FY 2007 spending bill passed recently by House Democrats.

The White House action, announced today by Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Director Rob Portman, comes a little more than a week after the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call revealed Members and lobbyists have been quietly calling federal agencies to ensure their hidden projects would be funded by the money from the bill, despite Democratic leaders’ pledges that the bill would be “earmark free.” Boehner issued the following statement:

“The spending bill rushed through the House earlier this month by Democrats contains hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding for hidden earmarks. I commend President Bush for taking action today to ensure these taxpayer funds are used responsibly and allocated based on their merit, rather than politics.

“I was encouraged at the beginning of this Congress when House Democrats joined with Republicans to adopt earmark reforms that renewed and strengthened the earmark reforms passed under Republican leadership last fall. But I’m disappointed Democratic leaders did not take action to keep these backdoor earmarks out of the recently-passed spending bill. I’m very pleased President Bush has taken this action today to ensure these taxpayer funds are spent wisely, through a process that is more transparent and visible to the public.”

Boehner, a longtime congressional advocate of earmark reform, worked with other House Republican leaders in 2006 to pass reforms requiring public disclosure of all earmarks and earmark sponsors.