[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 195 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H16839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   EARMARKS FOR REELECTION CAMPAIGNS

  (Mr. FLAKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. FLAKE. Madam Speaker, one of my astute colleagues recently said, 
``One of the toughest parts of being a Member of Congress is 
remembering what we are supposed to be outraged about.'' I thought 
about this yesterday when I heard the report that surprise, surprise, 
earmarks were being used to help Members get reelected. The reason that 
is treated with kind of a ho-hum is because, as it turns out, that is 
one of the more noble explanations as to why earmarks are used.
  With the reporting that is going on about earmarks being tied to 
campaign contributions, or chairmen, or people in leadership positions 
getting tens of millions of dollars in earmarks for favored companies 
or organizations in their district, it seems that we have simply gone 
too far when we don't recognize this as a problem.
  I would call on my colleagues in the new year to have a moratorium on 
earmarks. Let's put a brake on this process until we can put a process 
in place to adequately vet these. There is no noble purpose for the 
contemporary practice of earmarking. Try as we might, we aren't coming 
up with one.

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