New anti-earmark caucus?

The Tea Party generation is already making its mark in Congress. Earmarks, those sneaky pet projects members of Congress insert into legislation, are under attack. Good.

From the Washington Examiner:

Even as some in the liberal mainstream media appear determined to spark a civil war among Senate Republicans, 11 of them are planning to move next week that the entire caucus join the House GOP caucus in an earmark moratorium for the 112th Congress.

The group includes Jim DeMint, R-SC, Tom Coburn, R-OK, John Ensign, R-NV, Mike Enzi, R-WY, and John Cornyn, R-TX, along with Senators-elect Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire.

"Americans want Congress to shut down the earmark favor factory, and next week I believe House and Senate Republicans will unite to stop pork barrel spending," DeMint said. "Instead of spending time chasing money for pet projects, lawmakers will be able to focus on balancing the budget, reforming the tax code and repealing the costly health care takeover."

And in a related development, DeMint is co-sponsoring an amendment Cornyn plans to offer that would put the Senate GOPers on record in support of a constitutional amendment requiring the federal budget to be balanced and thereby force Congress to put the brakes on government spending and require a supermajority to raise taxes.

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