President Bush to Curtail Congressional Earmarks (will issue Executive Order) [View All]

Source: Bolomberg

Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush will begin ``unprecedented steps'' to trim billions of dollars earmarked by lawmakers for pet projects, a White House spokesman said.

In his State of the Union address tonight, Bush will promise to ``veto any spending bill that does not succeed in cutting earmarks in half from 2008 levels,'' deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said in an e-mail.

Bush will issue an executive order tomorrow directing federal agencies to ignore any earmarks included only in committee reports, not in the text of legislation.

Bush will say that if spending for such projects is warranted, then ``Congress should debate them in the open and hold a public vote,'' Fratto said.



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