Democratic Club of Worcester County

House Appropriations Committee Places New Restrictions on Earmarks

The House Appropriations Committee today announced that it will not approve requests for earmarks that are directed to for-profit entities.  If this rule had been in effect last year, it would have resulted in 1,000 fewer earmarks.  The announcement came today in a joint statement from Congressman Dave Obey, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Congressman Norm Dicks, incoming Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman.

To assure compliance, the Committee will also require agency Inspectors General to audit at least 5% of all earmarks directed to non-profit entities.  This new oversight measure is to ensure that earmarks go to their intended purposes and to prevent for-profits from masquerading as non-profits.

Additionally, the Committee will establish an online “one-stop” link to all House Members’ appropriations earmark requests to enable the public to easily view them.

An information fact sheet on earmarks is attached.

Attachments:

File	Description	File size
2010 Earmark Reforms Fact Sheet - 3 10 2010.pdf	Earmark Reform Fact Sheet	118 Kb