Scott Garrett: “the majority party ascended to power with a promise that they would make this Congress the most open and ethical…”

“the majority party ascended to power with a promise that they would make this Congress the most open and ethical Congress ever. Most open and ethical indeed. Perhaps the majority party should have said something like, We will be open and ethical when it suits our purpose. That wouldn't have been a catchy phrase maybe on the campaign trail, but at least it would have been honest. For instance, the majority promised to clean up the earmarking process, but so far that, too, has been a hollow promise. Recently, we had the SCHIP and it was riddled with hidden earmarks. And yet not one sponsor of these provisions has ever been identified, and they have denied that there's any earmarks in them whatsoever. Now the Republican Party has now offered a simple resolution to clean up the process of earmarks, but not a single Democrat has signed on to this resolution. I call on my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, in the majority, to allow for a real debate on ethics and earmarks.”