The previous ban on earmarks that lasted from 2011 to 2021 brought $141 billion in savings, according to new analysis from OpenTheBooks.com. It’s a crucial area of waste that cannot be ignored in the national conversation about deficit spending.
Key facts: From 2000 to 2010, Congress spent an average of $20.4 billion per year on earmarks — local pet projects that lawmakers fund in their home districts using federal money, often without merit.
Beginning in 2011, Congress banned earmarks after pressure from President Barack Obama and Sen. Tom Coburn. Some projects snuck through — an average of $7.6 billion per year, according to estimates from Citizens Against Government Waste — but earmark spending decreased by 61% in the 11 fiscal years the ban was in place.
Both parties voted to bring back earmarks in 2022, and spending almost instantly returned to the previous sky-high levels. Even politicians traditionally seen as pillars of fiscal conservatism have jumped on board. Sen. Mitch McConnell, for example, refused to take earmarks for years but requested $640.9 million this year.
Bringing back the ban now would help Congress and DOGE reach their goal of a balanced federal budget.
Background: Even if Congress refuses to ban earmarks entirely, the process can still be improved to help taxpayers identify wasteful projects, putting pressure on lawmakers to curb their spending.
Congress members used to be able to pass earmarks anonymously. The federal budget omitted the name of the requestor and gave only vague information about the recipient. Congress passed $79.2 billion of earmarks from 2004 to 2006 under this system.
In 2008, legislators were finally required to attach their names to their earmarks. Spending quickly decreased, with $53.3 billion spent from 2008 to 2010.
Similar changes could be made today. The Senate posted its latest earmark request as nine separate PDF files, rather than in an Excel spreadsheet, making analysis time-consuming and arduous. Streamlining the request records provides more opportunity for the public to review the projects, and ultimately more transparency.
The earmark guidelines also require the Government Accountability Office to conduct an “independent audit” on earmarks each year, but the report is severely lacking. In 2024, the GAO somehow managed to conduct its audit without including a list of earmarks or mentioning a single Congressmember by name.
Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.
Summary: Some top Republican leaders indicated last December they would be willing to reinstate the earmark ban, but President Trump and his administration have mostly been silent on the issue since taking office in January. It’s time for that silence to be broken.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com