Toomey Calls on Sestak to Live Up to His Earmark Pledge; Side with Taxpayers in Vote Today
For Immediate Release—July 27, 2010
Contact: Nachama Soloveichik • Communications Director • 484.809.7994 • 646.528.1029
Contact: Kristin Anderson • Deputy Communications Director • 484.809.7994 • 612.280.5196
Contact: Tim Kelly • Press Secretary • 484.809.7994
Allentown, PA - For months Congressman Joe Sestak has preached the importance of accountability in Washington and the need to eliminate earmarks from the appropriations process. In fact, his campaign website states, "Joe favors eliminating all earmarks from the appropriations process."
Well today he'll have his chance to put taxpayers' money where his mouth is.
As the U.S. House of Representative debates Fiscal Year 2011 Transportation and Housing and Urban Affairs funding this morning, Congressman Jeff Flake of Arizona will offer amendments that strip a number of individual earmarks from the underlying bill.
These earmarks include:
- A Hiking/Biking trail in Golden Gate Park, CA (Cost: $1,000,000)
- A bike path project in Rhode Island (Cost: $1,000,000)
- A bicycle project in Boulder, CO (Cost: $250,000)
- A Tacoma, WA "Street-Scape" (Cost: $1,000,000) -
- A Durham, NC "Street-Scape" (Cost: $500,000) -
- A "Harbor Walk" in MA (Cost: $750,000) -
- A city library project in Mount Rainier, MD (Cost: $350,000) -
- A park expansion project in Winter Park, FL (Cost: $250,000) -
- A library restoration project in Braintree, MA (Cost: $500,000) -
- A New York housing complex restoration project (Cost: $1,000,000) -
- A children's playground in Yauco, PR (Cost: $150,000) -
- A hiking/biking trails system in Texas (Cost: $650,000) -
-------------------------------------------------
Total: $7,400,000
Joe Sestak likes to talk a great game when it comes to voting down wasteful spending and outlandish earmarks, but his track record sings a very different tune.
In 2009, Joe Sestak had 68 opportunities to vote agains specific outrageous pork-barrel projects and he rejected EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. These votes included some of the most egregious waste of taxpayer dollars, and still, Congressman Sestak said NO every single time. In 2007, Sestak had 50 opportunities to vote to get rid of outlandish pork-barrel projects, and rejected ALL BUT ONE.
When it comes to earmarks, Joe Sestak likes to say the right thing, but do something very different. Today we'll see if chooses to side with the hard-working, tax-paying families of Pennsylvania, or Nancy Pelosi and his free-spending, liberal colleagues in the House.
-30-
