Missouri's Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill introduced legislation Wednesday to put a permanent ban on earmarks, the legislative practice of funding specific projects.
Currently, there is a temporary ban on earmarks in place.
Speaking to reporters during a conference call this morning, McCaskill says projects need to compete on merit.
"Serving in Washington shouldn't be about what kind of pork you can bring home," McCaskill said. "It should be about whether or not we're spending money wisely and with an eye towards competitiveness and value and cost-benefit analysis."
John Brunner, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate for Missouri, Wednesday took the opportunity to accuse McCaskill of voting for thousands of earmarks. He says that now that she is facing a tough reelection fight, McCaskill is attempting to hide her support for earmarks.
McCaskill is co-sponsoring the legislation with Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
