Portman Praises Adoption of Earmark Reform Amendment in Senate Bill

Paves the way for greater transparency and accountability in the budget process WASHINGTON OMB Director Rob Portman praised the adoption of an earmark reform amendment to S. 1 The Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007. The amendment's author is Senator Jim DeMint, the chairman of the Republican Steering Committee. "The Senate bill introduced by Majority Leader Harry Reid would have excluded most earmarks from disclosure falling short of the President's standards of full disclosure of the sponsors, costs, recipients and justification for every earmark. "The adoption of Senator DeMint's amendment improves the bill dramatically and helps pave the way for greater transparency and accountability in the Congressional budget process. "With the adoption of this reform, both the House and Senate have now voted to curtail the process by which unjustified spending provisions are slipped into legislation. "These votes are a good step in the right direction. We also encourage lawmakers to support other reforms presented by the President to reduce wasteful spending, including cutting the number and amount of earmarks in half and permitting the legislative line item veto to further reduce unnecessary spending."