[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3653]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                EARMARKS

  (Mr. KIRK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I am the first House appropriator to swear off 
earmarks and join 32 of my colleagues, including Senators Feingold and 
McCain, as well as Chairman Waxman and Leader Boehner. I'm told that 
Senators Clinton and Obama are considering supporting this effort.
  The Constitution put the spending power in the House, and I used this 
to support my district. But like other powers, this congressional power 
could be abused; and, increasingly, we approve low- or no-quality 
spending to win approval for our own community: you get yours, I get 
mine, and the kids get the bill.
  No more for this appropriator. We should ask: Should the taxpayers 
pay for a $320 million bridge to connect a town of 8,000 to an island, 
population 50? No.
  Should the taxpayers spend $243,000 on Chez Panisse to create a 
gourmet organic school lunch program featuring ``Comte cheese souffle 
with mache salad'' or ``Meyer lemon eclairs with huckleberry coulis''? 
No.
  Common sense says we should put an end to such spending. I would urge 
the House to enact the Wolf-Kingston reforms with a moratorium on 
earmarks.

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