House Republicans Go On Pork Diet

ABC News’ Matt Loffman reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called yesterday's move by the House to ban corporate earmarks "critical reform."  Now, House Republicans have one-upped their Democratic colleagues – vowing not to accept any earmarks for special projects in 2011 spending bills. 

“For millions of Americans, the earmark process in Congress has become a symbol of a broken Washington," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement.  "Today House Republicans took an important step toward showing the American people we’re serious about reform by adopting an immediate, unilateral ban on all earmarks."

The Republican resolution, which came after a vote by members of the House Republican Conference in a closed-door meeting, says that "no Member shall request a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit."

Conference Chairman Mike Pence, R-Ind., said the decision to "renounce earmark requests of all kinds" came only after a "marathon debate" among conference members.  But he praised the decision as "a new way forward."

"By standing in favor of a moratorium on earmarks in this Congress, House Republicans are making a clean break from the past," Pence said.  "We are offering the American people a fresh start on spending in Washington, DC."

After yesterday's decision by Democrats to ban for-profit earmarks, the House Appropriations Committee said that if the ban was in place last year, it could have eliminated 1,000 earmarks.  

That's 1,000 of the nearly 9,500 earmarks the government watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense identified in 2010 budget.  The organization totaled nearly $16 billion in pork-barrel spending.

The GOP announcement also came exactly one year after President Obama spoke about the need for earmark reform.

"On occasion, earmarks have been used as a vehicle for waste, and fraud, and abuse," Obama said.

The president said that not all earmarks are created equal, and stopped short of calling for their elimination. He has not vetoed appropriations bills containing earmarks as president.

"We can come together around principles that prevent the abuse of earmarks," Obama continued.  "Earmarks must have a legitimate and worthy public purpose.”