By Brian Faler March 10 (Bloomberg) — House Democrats announced they are banning so-called earmarks for defense contractors, energy firms and other private companies in an election-year attempt to crack down on the much-criticized funding process. Lawmakers will also direct federal auditors to inspect five percent of projects awarded to nonprofit groups to guard against companies masquerading as such entities, said House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey and Defense Spending Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks in a joint statement. The two lawmakers estimated that companies received about 1,000 earmarks from Congress last year. Critics have singled out for attack the funding of such projects for companies, saying they amount to no-bid contracts to firms that often return the favor with contributions to lawmakers’ re-election campaigns. President Barack Obama echoed such criticism last year, calling such earmarks “the single most corrupting element in this practice.” Steve Ellis , vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense , a Washington group that tracks projects, called today’s House announcement “a significant positive step forward” because “earmarks to for-profit entities are certainly ground zero for pay-to-play.” Deficit Issue The plan may help Democrats deal with concern among voters about rising federal spending and deficits , as well as a series of ethics-related inquiries involving Democratic lawmakers. Most earmarks benefit public or nonprofit organizations such as hospitals, police departments, universities and arts centers. Projects for profit-making entities tend to go to either defense contractors or energy companies. Obama’s proposals to crack down on earmarks ran into opposition on Capitol Hill, especially in the Senate, where lawmakers balked at more modest restrictions than announced by Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat, and Dicks, a Washington state Democrat. The announcement was praised by Representative Jeff Flake , an Arizona Republican who is a persistent critic of the earmarking practice. He called it a “good first step,” and said he hoped “Republicans take these restrictions a step further and impose a moratorium on all earmarks this year.” House Republicans are considering such a moratorium, said Majority Leader John Boehner , an Ohio Republican. A spokesman for Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye , a Hawaii Democrat, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Faler in Washington at or bfaler@bloomberg.net .
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House Democrats Will Ban Earmarks for Companies in Election-Year Crackdown
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