Congressional spending is out of control in Washington and we must take steps to reverse this trend. Since all bills to levy taxes and spend government money originate in the House of Representatives, that’s where we need to place the focus today. House Republicans have asked the Democrats to join them in supporting an immediate moratorium on all earmarks, also referred to as “pork-barrel” spending, however, as of today, the Democrats have not indicated their willingness to cooperate. Now, let’s be clear, over the years some Republicans have been as guilty as their Democratic counterparts in inserting their home-town pet project funding into bills in Congress without any public hearings or reviews. Typically, these funds go to state or local agencies or to a private entity in the Congressman’s home district and the folks back home applaud their local Congressman for bringing the funds to the district. The problem is that the process allows members of Congress to secure hundreds of millions of dollars of funding for projects without having to go through any kind of public debate, analysis or scrutiny. Usually, the longer the tenure of the Congressman, the more “bacon” he or she can bring to their district. What people don’t seem to realize when they applaud their local Congressman for bringing money to their district through the use of these earmarks is that Congress is spending millions and millions of tax dollars with little or no accountability. We must change this free spending policy immediately. The Club for Growth recently put out a “RePork Card” which rated how our Representatives voted on 50 anti-pork amendments in 2007. Both of Suffolk County’s U.S. Congressman, Steve Israel & Tim Bishop, scored a “ZERO” on the rating, meaning they voted against every single anti-pork amendment, putting them into the PORK HALL OF SHAME. It’s time our folks in Congress understand that we will not allow this type of “tax & spend” mentality to exist in Washington. Republicans and Democrats agree that it is time for “CHANGE” so let’s push them to start that change by putting an end to Earmarks starting immediately. It's the RIGHT thing to do!