Lowey to discuss earmarks with freshman, at-risk Democrats – By Jennifer Shutt (Roll Call) / Jan 27 2020
Tuesday meeting marks first step in determining whether there’s enough consensus to attempt to bring back the line items
House Democratic leaders are moving ahead with their sales pitch for the return of earmarks — which an aide dubbed “community project funding.”
House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey, D-N.Y., is set to meet Tuesday with a group of freshman House Democrats and others considered vulnerable in the 2020 elections to talk about a possible return of local projects in the spending bills for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
The meeting is a first step of sorts in determining whether House Democrats opt to bring back the somewhat-taboo line items, which were banned by then-majority Republicans in 2011 and haven’t yet returned under Democratic control. The more formal name for the special projects in recent years has been “congressionally directed spending,” but “community project funding” implies a more personal connection to lawmakers’ districts.
“There is considerable interest in allowing members of Congress to direct funding for important projects in their communities,” a Democratic aide said in a statement Friday.
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