Toomey for Senate

Will Arlen Specter Drop His 30-Year Addiction to Wasteful Spending and Join this Bipartisan Effort? 
 

Allentown, PA – U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey commended House Democrats for finally moving to ban earmarks for private companies after years of supporting outrageous, wasteful pork projects (Washington Post, 03/11/10).  Mr. Toomey also urged Democrats to support a move by Republicans to ban all earmarks.
 
Toomey has opposed the practice of inserting wasteful pork projects into spending bills since his early years in Congress.  He often voted against outrageous projects even when a majority of his congressional colleagues supported them, including wood utilization research programs (RC #160, 05/26/99); the center for peanut competitiveness (RC #161, 05/26/99); asparagus research (RC #360, 06/29/00); and mohair subsidies (RC #383, 07/11/00).
 
He has long been an active proponent of banning all earmarks.  It is nice to see the Democrats finally taking his advice. 
 
Unfortunately, both Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak have supported the wasteful earmarking process for years.  Specter was designated Porker of the Month for May 2001 (CAGW) and October 2003 and Porker of the Year for 2003 by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW Press Release, 02/05/04).  Specter also refused to eliminate specific wasteful projects, voting to spend taxpayer dollars on the 2008 presidential nominating conventions (RC #121, 03/28/07), the Woodstock Festival Museum (RC #377, 10/18/07), and the $223 billion Bridge to Nowhere in Alaska (RC #262, 10/20/05).
 
In his three years in the House, Sestak has been quick to follow in Specter’s footsteps.  In 2009, Joe Sestak had 68 opportunities to vote to get rid of specific outlandish pork-barrel projects, and he rejected EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.  In 2007, Sestak had 50 opportunities to vote to get rid of outlandish pork-barrel projects, and rejected ALL BUT ONE.  These included $325,000 for the Institute for Seafood Studies in Thibodaux, Louisiana (RC #382, 06/18/09), $1 million for potato research in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington (RC # 507, 07/09/09), and $2 million to establish the "Rangel Center for Public Service" at City College of New York, requested by none other than Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) (RC #678, 07/19/07).
 
“After years of supporting some of the most outrageous wasteful spending, it is encouraging to see the Democrats finally recognizing the error of their ways,” Toomey said.  “But if they really want to protect taxpayers’ hard-earned money, they will reject half-measures and embrace an effort to ban all earmarks.  The earmarking process is wasteful, unfair to taxpayers, and creates a culture of secret backroom deals.”
 
Toomey went on, “Pennsylvanians deserve to hear from Arlen Specter on this issue.  Here is a perfect opportunity for him to reject the Washington insider spoils system, and join a bipartisan effort to reign in wasteful spending.  Just once, is Arlen Specter willing to change the ways of Washington for the good of Pennsylvania taxpayers?”