U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky says he will support a moratorium on earmarks in the next Congress, a reversal of course for one of the staunchest defenders of the practice.Earmarks are funding requests for local projects that lawmakers insert into legislation.In a Senate floor speech Monday, McConnell, the Senate Republican Leader, said he's not apologizing for supporting earmarks, but sees that Americans have come to view the abuse of the practice as a symbol of waste and out-of-control government spending."The only way we will be able to turn the corner and save our future is if elected leaders like me make the difficult decisions that voters are clearly asking us to make," he said.GOP leaders in the House have already called for a ban on earmarks, which is also one of the planks in the Tea Party platform.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.