Washington, D.C. – The following is a written statement from Jill Lancelot, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense:

Taxpayers lost big tonight when an amendment to save millions of our hard-earned taxpayer dollars failed to come to a vote in the House of Representatives.

Opponents of Representatives Steve Chabot’s (R-OH) and Robert Andrew’s (D-NJ) bold amendment to cut taxpayer subsidies to the timber industry in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest deployed a series of procedural maneuvers to dodge a vote on a fiscally responsible reform that the majority in Congress passed last year.

The Chabot/Andrews amendment received strong support from a broad range of constituencies, including taxpayer advocates; sport hunting and fishing organizations, religious leaders, and numerous local Alaska businesses.

This is the latest example of why Americans have lost faith in their elected officials, and overwhelmingly believe that Washington has stopped working. When members of Congress prioritize the special interests above everyone else, one can only conclude that the only endangered species in Washington are fiscally responsible lawmakers.