GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY ON ELIMINATING EARMARKS IN THE OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL

Today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement on the President's efforts to eliminate the thousands of earmarks in the omnibus spending bill:

"This week, Congress passed a massive, pork-laden omnibus spending bill. Contained in this bill are nearly 9,800 earmarks and pet projects for legislators. This is exactly the type of fiscal irresponsibility that the American people have demanded that those in Washington end. Yet, this bill brings the total number of earmarks Congress has approved this year to nearly 11,900 earmarks.

"Yesterday, President Bush directed his administration to review all possible options for eliminating this wasteful spending. I applaud those efforts and believe that the President should assert the full range of his executive power to limit and eliminate as many of these earmarks as possible. As President, I pledge to use every available method to eliminate wasteful earmarks in the federal budget. One such tool is returning to the President the power to make line-item vetoes. Change in Washington begins when we change the culture that allows earmarks, pet projects and wasteful spending to thrive in the place of being good fiscal stewards of the taxpayers' money."