In one of their first actions as the majority party in the 110th Congress, Democrats are setting new requirements for “earmarks,” bill provisions that specify money or tax breaks for targeted purposes. The House’s new leaders already have pushed through a rule mandating more disclosure about earmarks, and the Senate probably will do the same. The number of such provisions may well decline, at least for a while, but the practice won’t vanish. The debate is of keen interest to the construction industry, because many earmarks fund highways, river locks and dams, federal buildings and other infrastructure projects.
Under a rule passed Jan. 5, House spending and other bills must list “congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits and limited tariff benefits,” as well as the names of lawmakers who are sponsoring the provisions. Sponsors must certify they have “no financial interest” in listed earmarks. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced a similar plan. Demo-crats also have barred earmarks from remaining 2007 appropriations.