WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyo., issued the following statement in response to the President’s State of The Union comments regarding earmark spending reform.

“Secretive spending in Washington is out of control.  I welcome the President’s initiative to veto bills that do not significantly slash earmarks.

"The people of Wyoming deserve to know how their money is being spent.  No longer will questionable spending be ushered through in the dead of night. Lawmakers will not be able to hide thousands of pet projects worth billions of dollars from public scrutiny.

"To quote directly from the State of the Union , “If these items are truly worth funding, the Congress should debate them in the open and hold a public vote.”  I could not agree more. 

"Washington is fundamentally broken.  Unless we confront the wasteful earmarks, it will never be fixed.  The President’s Executive Order directing federal agencies to ignore earmark projects will help restore the trust between the American people and Washington.  It is an important first step toward reforming the way Washington spends taxpayer money.

" Wyoming taxpayers need to know that their money is being spent wisely.  I applaud the President’s proposal and will work to see it implemented.

"The executive order will allow us to identify wasteful earmarks and more easily remove them.  The President is right to force members of Congress to stand by their spending requests."