Leahy: GOP can have half the earmarks in spending bills – By Jennifer Shutt (Roll Call) / Mar 10 2021
Republican leaders haven’t blessed the return of ‘congressionally directed spending’ so far
Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick J. Leahy plans to bring back earmarks this Congress even if Republicans won’t participate, but as an enticement to do so he’d dedicate half of the spending on “directed funds” to the GOP.
“I’m perfectly willing to divide it equally between Republicans and Democrats. And so it will be up to them if they want it. If they don’t, we’ll just have it on the Democratic side,” the Vermont Democrat told CQ Roll Call on Wednesday.
Leahy’s been in conversations with Appropriations Committee ranking member Richard C. Shelby, R-Ala., for weeks about exactly when and how to bring back “congressionally directed spending” in the Senate.
He’s also been discussing the matter with House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who announced in late February her plans for bringing back earmarks this year. House Democrats’ plan for appropriations earmarks will limit the amount of money for “community project funding” to 1 percent of discretionary spending, ban earmarks for for-profit entities and limit members to 10 requests per fiscal year.
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