Hoyer to W.H.: Hands off our earmarks

The article below tells you how bad those pols in DC are


House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has a blunt message for the White House on the issue of earmarks: Back off.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs hinted that the White House would be pushing for earmark reform, telling reporters: "I think that you'll see that the president is going to draw some very clear lines about what's going to happen going forward.

But Hoyer made clear Tuesday that he would have none of it.

While the White House can “suggest ways for us to reform,” Hoyer said, “I don’t think the White House has the ability to tell us what to.”

And the majority leader was quick to point out that before he hit the campaign trail, Obama was serving the people of Illinois in the Senate — and obtaining federally-funded projects himself.

“The president, of course, had earmarks, as you’ll recall, not last year but the year before,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer said that members of Congress have a responsibility to provide funding for their districts.

“’Earmarks’ are a pejorative term,” he argued.

Hoyer signaled that congressional leaders were receptive to the idea of some kind of earmark reform and were in discussions with the White House about the matter. But he declined to detail those discussions.

From POLITICO.com


posted by Peter Greene