Key Facts

Republican Freshmen Caught "Begging" Republican Leaders to Bring Back Earmarks

According to Politico, House Republican freshmen have been caught "begging" Republican leaders to bring back earmarks. Sixty-five House Republican freshmen signed a letter in support of earmarks "even though it runs counter to the earmark ban Republicans campaigned on in 2010 and instituted when they took power."

"And in typical Washington fashion, [Republicans] think they’ve found a loophole that will get [these earmarks] past the ban," Politico reported.

While these Republican freshmen break their promise and push for taxpayer-funded earmarks, they continue to support ending Medicare and raising health care costs for seniors. [Politico, 4/23/12]

See which House Republican freshmen were caught begging to bring back earmarks here.

GOP Conference rules specifically ban "a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit or limited tariff benefit, as such terms have been described in the rules of the House." [GOP Conference Rules, 2/16/11]

42 House Republicans Voted Against Tariff Bills in 2010 Because they Were Earmarks. On July 21, 2010, forty-two House Republicans—including John Boehner and Eric Cantor—vote against the “The U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act” which was otherwise known as the miscellaneous tariff bill.  According to Michael Steel, a spokesman for then-House Minority Leader John Boehner, “The House Republican Conference voted to adopt an earmark moratorium, and voting for this legislation would violate that moratorium.” [HR 4380, Vote #456, 7/21/10; Associated Press, 7/21/10; Politico, 7/20/10]

Click here to see the hypocritical statements House Republican freshmen made opposing earmarks before they were caught "begging" for them.

Republicans Voted to End Medicare

In 2011, the GOP voted for the Republican Budget which would End Medicare for Americans younger than 55.

The bill passed 235-193. [H Con Res 34, Vote #277, 4/15/11]

Nobel Prizing Winning Economist: “How is This Not an End to Medicare?” “The new scheme would still be called ‘Medicare’, but it would bear little resemblance to the current system, which guarantees essential care to all seniors. How is this not an end to Medicare?” [Paul Krugman, Nobel Prizing winning economist, 12/20/11]

Former Fed Chief: The House Republican Budget “Threatens to Eviscerate Medicare.” “The plan threatens to eviscerate Medicare by privatizing it—with vouchers that, absent some sort of cost-control miracle, would fall further and further behind the rising cost of health insurance.” [Alan Blinder a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, 4/19/11]

Concord Monitor Columnist: The House Republican Budget “Purely and Simply Ends Medicare.” The House Republican budget “purely and simply ends Medicare. Period.” [Concord Monitor’s Kathy Burns, 4/17/11]

Medicare Advocate: The House Republican Budget Would “Destroy” Medicare. “Over time, this [House Republican Budget] will destroy the only health insurance program available to 47 million Americans,” [Max Richtman, executive vice-president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, 4/5/11]