{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-pushes-stronger-anti-corruption-rules-on-house-earmarks", "Golden pushes stronger anti-corruption rules on House earmarks", "2026-09-18", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "ME", "Jared F. Golden", "G000592", "golden.house.gov", "golden", "https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2014 Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) is co-leading an effort to strengthen guardrails against Members of Congress using taxpayer-funded earmarks to increase their own net worth.\n\nGolden joined Reps. Young Kim (CA-40) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) to introduce a resolution seeking to change House rules regarding Community Project Funding (CPF), a process that allows Members to direct federal funds to projects undertaken by state, local or tribal governments or certain nonprofits.\n\n\u201cAmericans deserve certainty that when a member of Congress secures funding for their district, it\u2019s for the good of their constituents \u2014 not themselves, their families or any entity in which they have a financial interest,\u201d Golden said. \"This resolution will strengthen the anti-corruption guardrails around earmarks to ensure federal dollars are used responsibly. I\u2019m proud to co-sponsor this commonsense change to preserve the integrity of the House.\u201d\n\nUnder current rules, Members requesting CPF must certify that they and their spouses have no financial conflicts of interest in the request. However, current rules do not explicitly account for indirect financial interests \u2014 such as whether an earmark could increase the value of a business asset owned by a Member or their family because of its proximity to the CPF project.\n\nThe proposal closes this loophole by requiring Members of Congress to certify that neither they, their spouse, their immediate family members, nor any entity in which they hold a material financial interest would directly or indirectly benefit financially from an earmark.\n\n\u201cWhen politicians are busy lining their own pockets, how can they ever understand or focus on the pocketbook issues Americans face every single day? Californians are struggling to afford groceries, gas, healthcare, and housing while paying some of the highest taxes in the nation. The least they deserve is representation focused on making their lives better,\u201d Kim said. \u201cI\u2019m proud to lead this commonsense resolution with Congressmen Jared Golden and Brian Fitzpatrick to hold Members of Congress to a stronger standard when bringing federal dollars back home. Members of Congress should be concerned with building a better future for Americans, not filling their own coffers.\u201d\n\n\u201cPublic service is a public trust, and there can be no ambiguity about whose interests we are here to serve,\u201d Fitzpatrick said. \u201cNo Member of Congress should be able to use the power of public office to create a financial benefit for themselves, their family, or an entity in which they have a financial stake. I have spent years working across the aisle to strengthen accountability and eliminate conflicts of interest in Congress, and the principle here is just as clear: public decisions must be made in the public interest. Clear rules, meaningful transparency, and real accountability are essential to protecting the integrity of this institution and the trust of the people we serve.\u201d\n\nText of the resolution is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-19T09:11:33Z", "2026-09-19T09:12:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://golden.house.gov/media/press-releases/golden-pushes-stronger-anti-corruption-rules-on-house-earmarks"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6764379795640707, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}