Not-A-Pundit: The Renaissance

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)–Tackling unnecessary government spending through earmark reform will be high on the Bush administration’s legislative agenda next year, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Friday.

In his weekly radio address Saturday, President George W. Bush will take aim at earmarks, which nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste estimates added $29 billion to the federal budget in fiscal 2006.

Bush, however, won’t call for any specific proposals on earmarks, Snow said. “I think what the president’s doing is laying down some benchmarks that both parties can work together to pursue.”

After Congress adjourned without finalizing nine pending appropriations bills for fiscal 2007, Congressional Democrats said they would extend a “continuing resolution” to keep the government running throughout the current fiscal year with funding at 2006 levels. The continuing resolution contains none of the thousands of earmarks that had been attached to the proposed spending bills, a development that pleased fiscal watchdogs.

Snow said the White House wants to bring more transparency to the budget process.

“There has been some trimming back this year. But it’s important that when you have a budget process, that things are not tucked in without consideration by members of Congress,” Snow said.

“This whole issue of so-called nontransparent earmarks, things that are put in without consultation or review by other members of Congress – there ought to be a concerted effort to cut down on those,” he said.

By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires