Dear Friend,
Although House Republicans temporarily suspended earmarks, it did not mean that those funds were immediately taken out of the federal budget. Instead, those funds were returned to the Treasury and Obama’s federal agencies were allowed to decide how the money should be spent.
This week I helped put an end to that. In the short-term Continuing Resolution passed on Tuesday, we included $4 billion in additional cuts, with $2.7 billion in targeted cuts ending the ability for any branch of the federal government to spend once-earmarked funds. It was my concern that funding once steered to Congressional districts would now end up in a slush fund to be spent by bureaucrats with minimal accountability.
Washington has a spending problem right now, and we need to put an end to the Administration’s funding of projects that focus on unelected agency official’s priorities instead of trimming down our bloated budget. The process of reining in federal spending has started, and it is now up to our colleagues in the Senate and the White House to join us in a serious effort to make sure our economic security is restored.
Sincerely,
Kay Granger