U.S. Rep. John Boozman (R-AR) joined House Republicans in calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to allow full earmark transparency and allow all earmarks to be challenged and debated on the House floor. Boozman joined over 100 GOP Members in signing a discharge petition to bring forward H.Res. 479, a GOP-sponsored piece of legislation which continues Republican efforts to ensure that every House Member has the opportunity to question a list of earmarks (or the statement that there are no earmarks) on all bills and conference reports, including appropriations bills, authorizing bills, and tax or tariff bills. Discharge petitions are used to bring legislation to the floor of the House when its leadership will not allow it. Under current House rules, 218 signatures are needed on the petition to move the earmark reform bill forward for an up-or-down vote. Boozman said: “As a member of the minority party, this is a tool we needed to use in order to bring full earmark reform to the House of Representatives. The previous agreement on earmarks in appropriations bill was only the first step in making sure Congress is not wasting the money of the American taxpayers. We must now take the further step in allowing close inspection and challenges to earmarks, wherever they occur, so fiscal discipline can be reestablished and we can proudly show Americans that we are being good stewards of their hard-earned tax money. This legislation for true earmark reform and transparency deserves to see the light of day. [Source]
Tags: Arkansas, earmark reform, earmarks, John Boozman, Representative, US House
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