Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about congressionally directed spending items in appropriations bills, which are more commonly known as earmarks. I share your concerns about using taxpayer dollars wisely and the need to rein in our national debt as soon as we possibly can.

As you probably know, earmarks are project-based requests that usually benefit municipalities, universities and community-based organizations. In 2007, Congress instituted strict reforms in both the Senate and House of Representatives that brought more transparency to the appropriations process. Since that time, Congress has reduced the number of earmarks by more than 50 percent. Senators making project requests were required to post them publicly on their Web sites, including the name and location of the intended recipient, the amount requested, and the purpose of the project. Funding for these requests is not guaranteed; they must be reviewed and approved by both the Appropriations Committee and the full Senate.

Given the size of our national debt and the urgent need to reduce it, both Republicans and Democrats have recognized the need to rein in federal spending, including earmarks. At the end of the 111th Congress, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye pledged to forego earmark requests for two years, which the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform recommended.

The Commission showed tremendous leadership and produced a set of bipartisan recommendations to help us get the national debt under control. To read its final report, which was released on December 1, 2010, please visit http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/. On December 3, 2010, I was one of 14 senators who sent a letter to the White House and the bipartisan congressional leadership, urging them to address our pressing fiscal challenges by considering the Commission’s report.

As Congress considers deficit-reduction measures and budget proposals for fiscal years 2011 and 2012, I will certainly keep your thoughts about earmarks and federal spending in mind. I look forward to working with my colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to put our fiscal house back in order.