Marco Rubio Takes Aim at Congressional Earmarks

Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is co-sponsoring a bill to permanently ban congressional earmarks. The Earmark Elimination Act has been introduced by U.S. Sen. Clair McCaskill, D-Mo., and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.

One of my first acts after being elected to the Senate a year ago was to support the moratorium on earmarks adopted by Senate Republicans, Rubio said in a statement. Earmarks waste hard-earned tax dollars, have eroded the publics faith in Washington and helped foster a culture of mindless and reckless spending.

The current freeze on earmarks is not enough, Rubio continued. Earmarks must be banned completely to help restore taxpayers faith that Congress can get a grip on spending when our national debt exceeds $15 trillion. Spending decisions in Washington should be transparent and made on the basis of merit, not through backroom deals that favor a handful of powerful politicians.

I commend Senators Toomey and McCaskill for introducing this important legislation to help stop wasteful spending, and I look forward to working to ban earmarks once and for all, Rubio concluded.