The Dem's record on earmark reform their first three months in power is dismal at best. Thus far, they have used over $20 billion in pork and special handouts to win votes for the war supplemental, enacted ambiguous ethics rules, extended the deadline for earmark submissions by two weeks, reneged on their pledge to limit requests, fought against full earmark disclosure in committee, and there are reports of appropriators preventing government researchers from publishing data on earmark submissions. The Senate has yet to even pass any kind of rules that disclose what member requested these millions and sometimes billions of dollars.
Given all of this, I do not have much optimism when Speaker Pelosi and the Dem's continue to talk about the earmark reform. Matching their rhetoric with their actions shows you the true tenor of their stance on the issue.
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