Flake & Campbell Introduce Anti-Earmark Amendment First Vote of the 2009 RePORK Card

Washington – Today, perennial anti-porkers Reps. Jeff Flake (AZ-06) and John Campbell (CA-48) will be unveiling an amendment to strip all pork projects out of the FY 2009 Military Construction-VA Appropriations Bill (HR 6599). The Club for Growth urges all members of Congress to support the amendment. We will be key-voting this amendment to be included in our congressional scorecard.

The $72.7 billion MilCon bill contains 103 member-requested earmarks worth $622 million. While many of these earmarks may be worthwhile, they are not subject to competitive bidding and oversight. In addition, the bill’s price tag is 14 percent larger than last year’s appropriations bill and 5 percent larger than the President’s request. “Supporting the Flake-Campbell amendment will constitute less than a 1 percent reduction in the bill’s total price,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Surely Congress can muster up the courage to cut spending by less than 1 percent.”

The Flake-Campbell amendment marks the first anti-pork amendment of the FY 2009 appropriations season and will be included in the Club for Growth’s 2009 RePORK Card. Last year, the Club for Growth issued a RePORK Card, grading each congressman on his commitment to eliminating pork. Last year, only sixteen members received a perfect score of one-hundred percent. Hopefully, that number will increase this year. At the very least, we expect the 41 House members who have sworn off earmarks to support the Flake-Campbell amendment.

“With federal spending ballooning by the minute, Congress should be cutting back not spending more,” Mr. Toomey added. “If Democrats and Republicans want to live up to their promises of fiscal responsibility, they can start by voting for the Flake-Campbell amendment. We commend Reps. Flake and Campbell for introducing this important amendment, and urge all of congressional members to follow in the footsteps of these two taxpayer heroes.”