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| Appropriations About Earmarks Each year, in order to fulfill its constitutional obligations, Congress must debate and pass legislation known as “appropriations bills” that keep our government running and continue services for the American people. As you probably know, part of that process allows individual members of the House of Representatives and Senate to request that a portion of the overall spending in those bills be directed to a specific purpose or project as approved by Congress and signed into law by the president. That setting aside of funds is popularly known as “earmarking.” I strongly support transparency and reform in the earmarking process. Soon after coming to Congress in early 2007, I voted for a moratorium on all fiscal year 2007 earmarks and helped put in place strong new rules on earmarking. Since then, the overall number and dollar amount of earmarks have been significantly reduced: the 2008 and 2009 spending bills cut the number of earmarks by 43 percent and 48 percent, respectively, compared to 2006. I believe we must continue to do better, and I support reducing earmarks even further. I am a fiscal conservative and I strongly support reducing deficit spending and balancing our budget. But Congressional earmarks do not add to the overall cost of annual federal spending. For example, in any given year, appropriators might set aside $100 million for a particular program and earmark $20 million (of the $100 million) for specific projects in different parts of the country. If, in this example, appropriators either chose not to or were prohibited from earmarking any of the funds, the program would still be funded at a level of $100 million, leaving the total amount of spending unchanged. Furthermore, eliminating earmarking by members of Congress also would not eliminate earmarking. Again, in this same example, even if Congress did not earmark even a dime of the $100 million, the full amount would be divvied up, or earmarked, by bureaucrats in the federal agency responsible for that particular program. If every member of Congress agreed to stop the earmarking process, I would gladly welcome such a moratorium. However, as long as the process is in place, I will not unilaterally forfeit my ability to advocate for the needs of our communities because doing so would allow for funds that I otherwise could have secured for Hoosiers to be earmarked by other lawmakers for projects in states like California and New York. My Fiscal Year 2010 Earmark Policy I have worked hard to fight for the needs of north central Indiana. Part of my efforts includes advocating for Congressional approval of projects that improve public health and welfare and bolster economic development and job growth in the Second District. In doing so, I and my staff closely scrutinize every appropriations request my office receives to ensure it is a responsible use of taxpayer dollars. The Congressional approval process is competitive; I do not submit all the requests I receive, and not every project I submit for Congressional approval is ultimately funded. My goal is to identify and support, to the best of my ability, those projects that would benefit north central Indiana.
Projects For a list of the projects I successfully secured funding for in fiscal year 2008, click here. For a list of the projects I successfully secured funding for in fiscal year 2009, click here. For a list of the project requests I have submitted for Congressional approval for fiscal year 2010, click here. I Value Your Input I have tried to put in place a process that is transparent and fair, and if you have suggestions for how I can improve the Congressional appropriations process, I invite you to email me your thoughts at http://donnelly.house.gov/contact/email.shtml. |
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