By Jacque Day
Kentucky – Kentucky U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell announced today, he will back Republican leadership on a moratorium on federal pork-barrel spending. McConnell recalled the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant cleanup of the last decade as he called for a halt on earmarks. He cited the Paducah Plant cleanup as a "truly vital" earmark that got his support. But he went on to say that "abuse of this practice has caused Americans to view it as a symbol of the waste and the out-of-control spending." He says the move is necessary with spending and debt at crisis levels. "So I'm not wild about turning over more spending authority to the executive branch, but I have come to share the view of most Americans that our nation is at a crossroads; that we will not be able to secure the kind of future we want for our children and grandchildren unless we act, and act quickly; and that only way we will be able to turn the corner and save our future is if elected leaders like me make the kinds of difficult decisions voters are clearly asking us to make."