Washington, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and other Republicans joined together this week to nearly shut the House down for regular business unless Democrat leaders reverse their decision to hide “earmarks” from public view and prevent Congress from voting on them.

Democrat Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wisconsin) announced that local project requests – commonly known as earmarks – will not be made public before the House votes on each of the twelve appropriations bills that fund the federal government.

Instead they will be inserted without public debate when the House and Senate meet to finalize each bill. They will not be made public until after the bill is voted on. Members of Congress will be prohibited from challenging and removing an individual earmark. 

“Hiding earmarks from public view and congressional scrutiny is another step backward for open and honest government,” said Brady, who is one of the few lawmakers in Washington who publishes his local project requests on his website. “Not only does this invite more corruption, but it is exactly the opposite of what this new Congress promised the voters.”

Brady believes previous Republican abuses of earmarks like the famous “bridge to nowhere” and $30 million tropical rain forest in Iowa contributed to voters turning the party out of power.

Earlier this year Congressional Democrats drew scathing public contempt for including pork barrel projects for spinach farmers, peanut storage and tropical fish into the bill to fund American troops in Iraq.