Republicans have learned to love earmarks again.
More than $8 billion in earmarks are in the fiscal 2025 House spending bills with nearly $5 billion going to Republican priorities, a Bloomberg Government analysis found.
Republicans steered money toward military construction and infrastructure projects, while dollars for non-profit earmarks sought by Democrats were, in many cases, blocked or slashed.
All of this year’s House earmarks can be found in an exclusive and searchable BGOV database here.
It shows the median earmark is $1 million, although they ranged widely from hundreds of millions of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
Republicans stand to bring home 62% of the earmarked funding in the House’s appropriations bills, while Democrats would win 37% of the earmark money. Bipartisan earmarks could account for about 1%.
The $8 billion total is a 9% increase compared to the $7.4 billion included in the chamber’s initial funding bills last year — contrasting with a broader push by Republicans to cut agency budgets.
The 4,829 earmarks in the House’s fiscal 2025 spending bills reflect hundreds of millions of dollars would go to dams and military housing, while nonprofits faced new restrictions.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) stands to bring home the most earmarked money of any House member, with $241.3 million in project funding across 12 projects. Almost all that money comes from a $218 million earmark for the Army Corps of Engineers to finish work on a new lock on the Tennessee River.
YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other nonprofits would see a sharp decrease, thanks to new restrictions on funds for nonprofits under a Housing and Urban Development account.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said he instituted the ban to save time after appropriators started funding work late this year, adding that he may reverse the decision in future years.
“It cuts out a lot of good groups, and we might want to look at that again,” Cole said. “I’m not necessarily wedded to this forever. But we started so late. And this is 1% of spending, basically, but it takes over a third of staff time.”
None of the earmarked projects mention LGBTQ causes, after Republicans sought to cut them out from last year’s funding bills.
Republicans “resoundingly wanted to reject any project that had anything to do with LGBTQ,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters.
House GOP Learns to Love At Least Some Earmarks
bgov.com
August 1, 2024 3:55 pm
Republicans have learned to love earmarks again.
More than $8 billion in earmarks are in the fiscal 2025 House spending bills with nearly $5 billion going to Republican priorities, a Bloomberg Government analysis found.
Republicans steered money toward military construction and infrastructure projects, while dollars for non-profit earmarks sought by Democrats were, in many cases, blocked or slashed.
All of this year’s House earmarks can be found in an exclusive and searchable BGOV database here.
It shows the median earmark is $1 million, although they ranged widely from hundreds of millions of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
Republicans stand to bring home 62% of the earmarked funding in the House’s appropriations bills, while Democrats would win 37% of the earmark money. Bipartisan earmarks could account for about 1%.
The $8 billion total is a 9% increase compared to the $7.4 billion included in the chamber’s initial funding bills last year — contrasting with a broader push by Republicans to cut agency budgets.
The 4,829 earmarks in the House’s fiscal 2025 spending bills reflect hundreds of millions of dollars would go to dams and military housing, while nonprofits faced new restrictions.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) stands to bring home the most earmarked money of any House member, with $241.3 million in project funding across 12 projects. Almost all that money comes from a $218 million earmark for the Army Corps of Engineers to finish work on a new lock on the Tennessee River.
YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other nonprofits would see a sharp decrease, thanks to new restrictions on funds for nonprofits under a Housing and Urban Development account.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said he instituted the ban to save time after appropriators started funding work late this year, adding that he may reverse the decision in future years.
“It cuts out a lot of good groups, and we might want to look at that again,” Cole said. “I’m not necessarily wedded to this forever. But we started so late. And this is 1% of spending, basically, but it takes over a third of staff time.”
None of the earmarked projects mention LGBTQ causes, after Republicans sought to cut them out from last year’s funding bills.
Republicans “resoundingly wanted to reject any project that had anything to do with LGBTQ,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters.