Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10) has introduced the Prohibiting Taxpayer-Funded Monuments to Members of Congress Act. This legislation expands the prohibition Turner authored in the FY12 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to put an end to the senseless waste of taxpayer dollars for pet projects bearing the name of a Member of Congress. Turner’s provision, which passed the House with strong bipartisan support, applied only to buildings and infrastructure controlled by the Department of Defense.
“This bill would simply expand that logical prohibition to cover all federal agency-funded projects and apply a uniform, government-wide standard. As Members of Congress, we have a responsibility to our constituents to be good stewards of tax dollars. Using those funds to glorify and advertize ourselves is a breach of that responsibility, and American taxpayers deserve better,” said Turner.
This legislation will also address an inconsistency in the rules governing the House and Senate. While the Rules of the House of Representatives include a prohibition on considering legislation which would designate a federally-funded project in honor of a sitting Member, the Rules of the Senate do not. Moreover, current law does not prohibit an agency or recipient of federal funds from taking action to designate or redesignate a federally-funded project after a sitting Member of Congress.
“This commonsense bill would stop these ‘monuments-to-me’ and ensures that these projects are recognized as funded by the taxpayers and not by Members of Congress. It is my hope that Congress will come together and put an end to these Congressional ‘monuments-to-me,’” added Turner.
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