There’s a spending carnival in Washington, D.C., and it’s time for you and I to shut it down. If you agree, then join me in this fight!
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Here are the facts. As Speaker Nancy Pelosi convened the 111th Congress in January 2009, she did so against the backdrop of an ailing economy. Rather than stop the financial decline in its tracks with sensible solutions, the Democrat-controlled Congress insisted on adding to our troubles with an ineffective “stimulus” plan and multiple taxpayer-funded bailouts. Americans know better: no amount of legislation will solve our economy’s ills unless we also address the reckless spending problem that is pervasive in Washington.
Over the years, the congressional earmarking process has evolved into a corrupt and broken system with no regard for merit. Both political parties share the blame for this wasteful practice that has eroded public confidence in our ability to marshal the nation’s financial resources.
I continue to hear outrage from Americans like you when they learn their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent on such “priorities” as $2.4 million for a retractable shade canopy at a park in West Virginia or $300,000 to market specialty potatoes to high end restaurants.
In 2008, with your help, I launched a “Stop the Pork” campaign to encourage Americans to sign an online petition showing Congress the broad disdain for wasteful spending and egregious earmarks. This January, I delivered a petition with nearly 7,000 signatures to Speaker Pelosi and Republican Leader John Boehner asking them to put an end to the wasteful earmarking process. While we sent a clear message, our work has just begun.
Please join me in this fight as we bring to light the federal government’s wasteful practices by fighting to rid Washington of wasteful pork-barrel spending.
Serving Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District
