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Senator Rubio Backs Legislation To Permanently End Earmarks

Nov 30, 2011 | Press Releases

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio issued the following statement today regarding his original co-sponsorship of the Earmark Elimination Act, a bill introduced by Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to permanently ban earmarks and institute a strict two-thirds point of order against pork-barrel projects contained in legislation:

“One of my first acts after being elected to the Senate a year ago was to support the moratorium on earmarks adopted by Senate Republicans. Earmarks waste hard-earned tax dollars, have eroded the public’s faith in Washington and helped foster a culture of mindless and reckless spending.

“The current freeze on earmarks is not enough.  Earmarks must be banned completely to help restore taxpayers’ faith that Congress can get a grip on spending when our national debt exceeds $15 trillion. Spending decisions in Washington should be transparent and made on the basis of merit, not through backroom deals that favor a handful of powerful politicians.

“I commend Senators Toomey and McCaskill for introducing this important legislation to help stop wasteful spending, and I look forward to working to ban earmarks once and for all.”