Rep. Ted Budd’s amendment to strip 1,474 earmarks costing more than $5.6 billion from a transportation bill when it comes to the House floor Wednesday was blocked late Tuesday by the House Rules Committee. “The fact that the Rules Committee didn’t even allow a vote on this earmark amendment shows how quickly the culture of wasteful earmarking has taken over Washington,” Budd told The Epoch Times Wednesday. His amendment was proposed for the “INVEST in America Surface Transportation and Infrastructure Act” before the House this week. “If Congress was serious about respecting each taxpayer dollar, the leadership would call earmarks what they are: a system of legalized bribery that should be ended once and for all,” he said. The earmarks— now officially known as “Member-Designated Projects”—are spending appropriations that are not voted on individually, but rather are simply included within much larger bills encompassing multiple issues. Asked about the decision …
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