Former Earmarks Supporter Supports Earmarks Moratorium During Bid for House Appropriations Chair

Jillian Bandes | November 06, 2010 8:30 AM

Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), began vying for the House Appropriations Committee chairmanship after Tuesday's elections. This past week, he said he would support a continuation of Republicans' earmarks moratorium:

I support an extension of the current moratorium as a continued sign of GOP commitment to fiscal discipline, stopping trillion-dollar deficit spending, and reducing the size of government.

In 2010, Hal Rogers sponsored or co-sponsored 50 earmarks totaling $93,408,000, ranking 10th out of 435 representatives according to OpenSecrets. This past week, his competitor for the House Appropriations Committee chairmanship, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), came out in favor of the earmarks moratorium as well. Lewis would need a term-limits waiver from GOP leadership in order to become a viable candidate for the spot.

Seems like Rogers took a cue from the Rand Paul victory.