By By Kerry Whipple Bean – publisher
Escambia County and south Alabama now have a voice on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile, was appointed to fill a vacancy left when fellow Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., filled Trent Lott's seat in the Senate.
Bonner said he wants to see reform in the appropriations system, supporting a moratorium on all earmarks while a bipartisan committee tries to find ways to eliminate so-called “pork barrel” spending.
“The current earmark process has become a symbol of a broken Washington,” he said in a statement. “I sought this seat on the Appropriations Committee because I believe the time for change and reform - especially of the appropriations process and the much scrutinized subject of earmarks - is now.
Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., a ranking member of the committee, said Bonner will be a “valuable member” of the committee.
Coastal Gateway Economic Development Authority President Wiley Blankenship said Bonner's appointment is good for the region and for the state.