House Republicans are following up on former President Donald Trump's 2018 recommendation to bring back earmarks despite the disapproval of other GOP lawmakers.
Earmarks, the practice of requesting funds for a legislator's district through a public request with written statements on why the request is an acceptable use of taxpayer funds, was banned by Congress in 2011. The practice, often referred to in a negative light as "pork barrel" spending, circumvents the normal funds appropriations process.
On March 17, House Republicans voted to remove the ban on requesting earmarks after 10 years of the practice's prohibition. This followed Democrats reinstating the practice after winning a House majority in 2019.
According to a March 17 article from the Washington Examiner, House Appropriations Committee chairwoman Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) announced that the committee will hear community project funding requests, or earmark requests—but this time with new rules. Requests reportedly will be subject to new transparency standards, and only allow funds to state or local governments, or nonprofit organizations, not for-profit groups.
These changes were approved and adopted in a secret ballot in early March.
"There's a real concern about the administration directing where money goes. This doesn't add one more dollar," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in defense of the changes, according to the Examiner. "I think members here know what's most important about what's going on in their district, not President Biden. I think members want to have a say in their own district."
Despite longtime opposition to the earmark practice that cited concerns of politician corruption and wasteful abandoned projects, the Examiner likened the GOP's thinking to, "If the Democrats are going to do it, we should too."
Republican opposition, however, still exists.
“That isn't the leadership that we need," U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said. "The Republican Party should be ashamed of itself for embracing earmarks when the American people are staring $30 trillion in debt."
Roy made his remarks at a news conference earlier this month. He led a group of 18 GOP lawmakers who oppose earmarks, and pledged to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that they "will not request earmarks, of the preferred euphemism of the day, 'community project funding.'"
A conservative thinktank is also hoping to turn Capitol Hill's attention to limit Big Tech as well. The Center for American Restoration addressed a letter to McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other members of Congress warning of threats to free speech and asking for "proliferation of legislative activity in the area of big tech reform."
"To treat the current laws on online platform immunity or antitrust enforcement as quasi- Constitutional provisions inerrant in their present form despite their obvious failures is wrongheaded," the February letter states. "To appeal to judges to solve this on their own is an abdication of duty. Accordingly, we welcome the proliferation of legislative activity in the area of big tech reform. America's foundational values of diverse speech, market access, and the free flow of information are imperiled by concentrated corporate power wielded at unprecedented scale — and in many cases, aided and abetted by federal policies. Inaction in this forum is no longer an acceptable response. We look forward to reviewing the various bills and proposals that emerge as Congress refines its approach to this increasing and existential threat to our nation."
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