The Most Open, Honest and Ethical Congress Update

In case you didn't hear, there was a big vote on earmark reform today. You know, earmarks? The stuff that Democrats promised they would do something about so that lobbyists and cronies don't steal your tax dollars... Well, here's the latest action from the floor of the United States House of Representatives today:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After House Democrats rejected House Republican efforts to force an immediate vote on legislation calling for a full moratorium on all earmarks, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement, pledging continual votes on an earmark moratorium until the Majority finally joins House Republicans in the reform effort:

“I am deeply disappointed that for the second time this week, the Majority has declined to work with Republicans to reform a broken earmark system. As Speaker of the House, Rep. Pelosi has the power to shut down the entire earmark process in our chamber at any time. But she hasn’t used it. And today, her Democratic colleagues had an unprecedented opportunity to join Republicans in halting the earmark process as we know it. But they declined to take it. All the Majority has offered is the same exaggerated claim that they have taken ‘monumental strides’ in reining in earmarks, hoping the American people forget that House Democrats reversed earmark reforms put in place by Republicans in 2006 and blocked further reforms so they could pork up last year’s spending bills.

“Washington is broken, and it will never be fixed until the earmarks stop and fundamental reform begins. Today’s vote is not the end of the earmark reform fight. Rather, it is just the beginning. House Republicans will continue to force votes on this issue until the earmark process is brought to an immediate halt, and we hope the Majority eventually joins us.”

NOTE: In 2006, under Republican control of Congress, the House adopted earmark disclosure rules that applied to all earmarks in all types of bills – appropriations, authorizing, and tax. In 2007, under Democratic control of the House, earmark disclosure rules were fully applied only to appropriations bills. Earmarks in tax and authorizing bills remain subject to weaker transparency requirements, and the appropriations requirements were adopted only after House Republicans exposed a plan by Democratic appropriators to pass appropriations bills containing slush funds for secret earmarks.

Three GOP members of the House Appropriations Committee — Reps. Jack Kingston of Georgia, Frank Wolf of Virginia, and Zach Wamp of Tennessee — have authored legislation that would bring the earmark process to a halt and establish a panel to identify ways to permanently change the spending process. Today’s vote would have advanced that legislation. Kingston-Wolf-Wamp has been cosponsored by 136 House Republicans, including the entire House Republican leadership team. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who as leader of the Democrat-controlled House has the power to shut down the chamber’s earmarking process immediately, declined to support the measure or the proposed moratorium.

My favorite stuff comes when Democrats open their mouths on this subject and tell lie after lie after lie after lie...but we'll get to that, in due time, too...

UPDATE: Robert Bluey has more over at the Heritage Foundation's blog...