Republicans who want to ban the use of budget earmarks next year claim it will usher in a new era in Congress, one free of pork-barrel spending projects like Alaska’s notorious $250 million “Bridge to Nowhere” or the $200,000 tattoo removal program in Los Angeles.
But the move, agreed to last week by GOP leaders in the House and Senate, left many lawmakers in both parties wondering how they’d steer federal money to projects in their states without earmarks, provisions lawmakers can slip into massive spending bills without public attention. Earmark opponents, meanwhile, question whether it is even possible to eliminate wasteful spending entirely.
And just about everyone on Capitol Hill is wondering if the elimination of earmarks will really make a dent in the soaring federal budget deficit.
Full Story: Lawmakers: Earmark ban would not – should not – end spending on local projects | Washington Examiner