Congressman Walt Minnick's campaign announced the release of a new website Thursday dedicated to fighting federal waste in earmarks.  The site, www.BanEarmarks.com, is a collection of Minnick's work to remove earmarks from the federal legislation.  Minnick is one of only a handful of lawmakers who have pledged not to request earmarks.

Minnick said that eventually banning earmarks should be an important priority for Republicans and Democrats alike.  "There is no more important issue facing our nation than the need to reign in reckless spending," said Minnick. "Banning earmarks and implementing a collaborative process to strike wasteful spending are positive steps in the path to more fiscal accountability."

The site features a petition to ban earmarks, which also serves as a campaign recruitment tool for the Minnick campaign.  There is a blog on the site, featuring earmark-related talk and news, as well as information about the presidential and congressional line-items vetoes, of which Minnick is a staunch advocate.  Minnick's foe in November, Republican nominee Raul Labrador, said earlier this month that Minnick's push for the veto powers misses the mark on ending runaway federal spending. Labrador said because Minnick voted for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, he must follow her lead on spending and budgetary issues.

In conjunction with the website release, the Minnick campaign launched a Twitter account entitled "BanEarmarks," which will likely be used to drive potential voters to the site and stir up discussion surrounding earmarks.