The Office of Management and Budget recently sent a memorandum to all federal agencies on how to obligate funds appropriated in the recently passed FY2007 stopgap spending bill (H.J.Res.20). In short, the memorandum instructs agencies to ignore “backdoor” earmarks, including those included in non-binding report language and those requested by phone or in writing by Members of Congress or their staff members. While the memorandum allows agencies the flexibility to fund projects which may have been earmarked, it directs the agencies to allocate funding on the basis of a project’s merits, as opposed to the recommendations or veiled threats issued by a project’s proponents.
Key directives:
No funding for “backdoor” earmarks, including non-binding report language earmarks or written or oral communications from Members of Congress or their staff members:
“For agencies funded by the CR, this means that unless a project or activity is specifically identified in statutory text, agencies should not obligate funds on the basis of earmarks contained in Congressional reports or documents, or other written or oral communications regarding earmarks.”
For funding decisions requiring discretion of federal agencies, those agencies shall allocate funding based on the merits of projects:
“In particular, agencies subject to the CR are advised to fund activities within each account in accordance with authorizing law, using statutory criteria, such as funding formulas, eligibility standards, and merit-based decision-making.”
