Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito Radio Address
June 22, 2007

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Transcript:

Hello, I'm Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito. I represent West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District.

The issue of transparency and accountability in government spending has been at the forefront of congressional action this year. In January, Democrats in the House abandoned earmark reform implemented by the Republicans last year. Instead, they approved a flawed rules package that made it harder to identify earmarks tucked into spending bills and even harder to remove them.

Fortunately, we Republicans stood by our reforms. This week, faced with a united Republican Conference, House Democrats restored Republican earmark reforms, a move that represents a victory for taxpayers and everyone who believes in greater transparency and accountability in government.

Because of Republican unity, Democrat leadership was forced to back down from their plan that would have hidden earmarks from the public eye by placing them in multi-billion dollar secret slush funds.

Thankfully, the rules restored to the earmarking process reflect Republican principles of increased accountability and transparency.

The Republican reforms the House restored this week require full disclosure of all earmarks, including listing the name of each member of Congress that requests an earmark before spending bills are voted on in the House.

In addition, Democrats restored last year's Republican reform that gives members of Congress the right to challenge, debate and vote on wasteful earmarks contained in spending bills before those bills are voted on in the House.

These pro-taxpayer reforms were made possible because of the belief by House Republicans that if an earmark is worthy of the one cent of taxpayers' money, then it must be able to withstand public scrutiny.

We believe that Americans' hard-earned money must never be spent behind closed doors, and we will continue to push for reforms that make our government more accountable to the American people.

Republican efforts to increase transparency have been successful in creating unprecedented openness in the government spending process.

And while we've had a good start, Republican reforms will not stop here. This week, House Republican Leader John Boehner outlined the next phase of the Republican campaign to ensure the earmarking process is transparent and accountable to taxpayers. He is ensuring that Republican earmark reforms are extended beyond spending bills to also include authorizing and tax bills.

This is the kind of accountability American taxpayers deserve, and it is the accountability Republicans are determined to deliver.

I'm Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito. Thank you for listening.