WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement regarding a moratorium on earmarks in the upcoming 112th Congress:
"I remain unconvinced that fiscal prudence is effectively advanced by ceding to the Obama administration our constitutional authority to determine federal expenditures, but an earmark moratorium is the will of the Republican Conference. If this is what it takes to get Congress focused on the real steps needed to get our fiscal house in order, then I will take the views of my Republican colleagues to heart. Restraining overall spending and eliminating waste in government will require our undivided attention."
###