[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 22, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3079-S3080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 688--EXPRESSING OPPOSITION TO CONGRESSIONAL SPENDING 
                              ON EARMARKS

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Appropriations:

                              S. Res. 688

       Whereas fiscal year 2022 marked the return of 
     ``congressionally directed spending'' and ``community project 
     funding'', also known as ``earmarks'', after a 12-year 
     hiatus;
       Whereas the return of earmarks marks the return of 
     lawmakers using their powers to circumvent the rules of the 
     Senate in order to direct taxpayer dollars to wasteful 
     projects;
       Whereas the 117th Congress has reinstituted and embraced 
     the wasteful practice of earmarking, as shown by the more

[[Page S3080]]

     than 3,000 requests for earmarks in the House of 
     Representatives and the more than 8,000 requests for earmarks 
     in the Senate for fiscal year 2022;
       Whereas the reckless, 2,700 page, $1,500,000,000,000 
     omnibus spending bill (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
     2022; Public Law 117-103; 136 Stat. 49) enacted in March 2022 
     appropriated billions of dollars to earmarks, even though the 
     United States is more than $30,000,000,000,000 in debt and 
     experiencing the highest level of inflation for 40 years;
       Whereas the massive, omnibus spending bill includes funding 
     for earmarks including, $2,500,000 to construct a museum 
     annex in Vermont, $605,000 to construct a New York City 
     greenhouse, and $3,000,000 to establish a Brooklyn gallery, 
     in addition to earmark projects including bike trails in 
     Vermont, derelict lobster pots in Connecticut, and a sidewalk 
     for the road of a country club in Colorado;
       Whereas former Senator Tom Coburn condemned the use of 
     earmarks as a ``gateway drug to overspending'', and former 
     Senator John McCain called earmarks ``the gateway drug to 
     corruption and overspending in Washington'';
       Whereas several former Members of Congress and lobbyists 
     have been convicted of crimes related to earmarking;
       Whereas it is crucial that Congress spend taxpayer dollars 
     wisely and with the best return on investment, especially 
     during times of historic inflation and Federal debt levels; 
     and
       Whereas Congress must stop this reckless Federal spending 
     and corrupt political dealing, start paying down the debt of 
     the United States, and get the United States back on track: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the use of ``congressionally directed 
     spending'' and ``community project funding'', known as 
     ``earmarks'', to direct and appropriate taxpayer dollars in 
     any form;
       (2) reaffirms the previous ban on the use of earmarks, and 
     affirms to restore the ban permanently and immediately; and
       (3) affirms the need for Congress to reign in overspending 
     to help curb the inflation crisis that is crippling the 
     families of the United States.

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