Rasoul Calls for End to Earmarks

Press Release

Rasoul calls for end to earmarks

Sam Rasoul, the Democratic challenger to Republican Bob Goodlatte's Sixth District House seat, unveiled proposed legislation Wednesday aimed at ending funding for congressional earmarks.

Rasoul said many earmarks are pet projects of members of Congress and are added to bills at the last minute.

"This bill will define who I am,'' Rasoul said. There needs to be funding for health care, roads and other vital needs but not for earmarked projects such as Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere," Rasoul said.

Rasoul said if there were any semblance of earmarks left, they should be handled through a grant process. "These projects need to be judged on merit. The best thing would be to put them through a formal grant process,'' he said.

Goodlatte, in a prepared statement from Washington, D.C., said the notion of banning earmarks is not a new one. The congressman said he has co-sponsored a resolution to create a bipartisan, bicameral Joint Select Committee on Earmark Reform that would study earmarks at all levels - appropriations, authorizing, tax and tariff measures, and in the administration's budget request - and report back to Congress on needs for reform.

Goodlatte said the legislation was defeated by the Democratic House majority earlier this year in a party line vote. "Unfortunately, the Democrats want to continue this practice instead of stopping wasteful spending,'' he said.
A study by the Heritage Foundation released last year thumped Goodlatte for $1.8 million he secured in earmarks in his district, including $300,000 for the renovation of Waynesboro's Wayne Theatre and $250,000 for improvements in Roanoke's historic district.

In a statement released in response to the Heritage study, Goodlatte said: "It would be unfair to my constituents to fund projects elsewhere in the country but not in my own district." In addition to his earmarks bill, Rasoul spoke of the need to pare the more than $9 trillion debt facing the United States.

The federal deficit has almost doubled during the Bush administration, Rasoul said. Reducing debt, Rasoul said, is "a matter of national security."
If elected, Rasoul said he would join a fiscally conservative congressional group known as the Blue Dog Democrats.

Goodlatte has introduced a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and said ways must be found to cut the federal budget. It is important to keep existing federal tax cuts in place, Goodlatte said. If not, he said Americans will face a $683 billion tax bill.

Goodlatte supports an American Taxpayer Bill of Rights that would reduce wasteful spending, simplify the tax code, ensure stable retirement and balance the budget. Joining Rasoul for his news conference at the Augusta County Government Center in Verona were two Staunton City Council members and Rasoul supporters, Ophie Kier and Bruce Elder.

Elder said the national debt translates to a cost of $31,000 per person.
He said proper budgeting is not just cutting costs, but "sensible investment."
"We need investment in infrastructure, schools and libraries,'' Elder said.
Kier said true fiscal responsibility by leaders involves obtaining industry and good paying jobs for residents.

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