US Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) replied to a letter I wrote to him as a constituent on the issue of spending earmarks. He agreed with me that we need more transparency and accountability in Congress, especially when it comes to spending the taxpayer's money. He co-sponsored the recent one-year earmark moratorium amendment that eventually failed to pass. He says the right words to me as a government reformer, and am honored to have him as one of my senators.
Here is a snippet of that letter of his:
" Members of Congress should have a say in how their constituents’ tax dollars are allocated, but every earmark should be openly debated and voted on. Taxpayers in Texas, and across the country, demand and deserve greater fiscal discipline and accountability in Washington, D.C. I have worked hard during my time in the Senate to reduce the size of government and eliminate wasteful spending—saving taxpayers’ money. Although the Senate did not pass this one-year moratorium amendment, it is my hope that by continuing to work together to fix the broken process by which we allocate federal dollars, Congress will send a clear message to the American people that we are listening.
America’s founding fathers understood a free society could not exist without informed citizens and an open, accessible government. That’s why strengthening government transparency and accountability has been among my highest priorities since coming to the Senate. The more information that we can put in the hands of the American people about what Congress does on a daily basis, the stronger our democracy will be. I can think of no area where accountability is more important than in the process of how Congress spends the money that Texans send to Washington. "
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