Caucus Chairman Emanuel in Response to White House Earmarks Announcement

From the Democratic Caucus:

Statement of House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel in Response to White House Earmarks Announcement

Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel released the following statement in response to the new White House Executive Order on earmarks:

"Seats on the reform bandwagon are going fast. For six years, President Bush did nothing to curb earmarks and instead presided over an earmark explosion. Under the Republican Congress, the number of earmarks went from about 4,000 earmarks, to about 15,500 earmarks each year, costing taxpayers billions. In just one year, Democrats passed landmark reforms to make the earmark process more transparent and cut earmarks in half. We look forward to working with the President to shine a new light on earmarks, including the thousands of earmarks the Administration requests each year."