THE HILL:
With Democrats back in control of the House after eight years of Republican control, there is strong support for reviving earmarks — the power to direct money on pet projects — which caused a major scandal in Congress during the George W. Bush years.
Senate and House lawmakers from both parties predict there will be a serious push to bring back earmarks once the government shutdown is finally over — with one exception.
Earmarks is a dirty word, so if the specially allocated funds return, they will be referred to as “congressionally directed spending.”
Support for bringing back earmarks is not unanimous, but it is growing in both parties as Republicans and Democrats alike say too much power has shifted to the presidency.
“When you discontinue earmarks, you’re saying the administration can better spend the money in my district. They know best what we need,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).
He said it is “not just some, it is the majority” in the House Democratic Caucus that back ending the earmark ban.
“Based on what I’m hearing, on the other side, they too believe it was a mistake to discontinue earmarks,” he said of his GOP colleagues.
At the same time, he says the internal discussions have been muted because of the partial government shutdown.
“This is not a good time to talk about earmarks,” he said.
