This week, I introduced my fourth privileged resolution calling for an ethics investigation into the link between earmarks and campaign contributions. I think we're going to see some real progress on the earmark front very soon. As you know, earmarks are used as enticements to jack up spending everywhere else. If you wonder who provided the critical margin in the Senate for the bloated omnibus spending bill to pass earlier this month, it was Republicans who had some of the 9,000 earmarks in the bill.

I was interviewed for a segment on the corrupting nature of earmarks that aired on the CBS Evening News on Tuesday night. I hope you'll take a moment to watch it.

The pay-to-play issue runs much deeper than the Jack Abramoff scandal a couple of years ago. The PMA scandal being investigated by the Department of Justice, referenced in the CBS piece, is likely to be much bigger. The bottom line is: no member of Congress should be able to award no-bid contracts. It simply invites corruption.