Bachmann forgoes earmarks for 2010

Rep. Michele Bachmann has kept her pledge to not seek earmarks, targeted funding for projects in her district, in the 2010 budget.

Under new House rules regarding the earmark process, members who ask for funding must post each request on their Web site. The deadline for posting was Saturday.

Bachmann’s Web site, www.bachmann.house.gov, lists no earmark requests. Her spokesman, Dave Dziok, said the Minnesota Republican has not submitted any requests for specific funding.

Bachmann contends the earmark process fosters the potential for corruption and in many cases amounts to wasteful use of taxpayers’ dollars. She maintains she has shunned them after requesting earmark funding in her first year in Congress.

Earmarks have played a role in lobbying and campaign finance scandals. They’re also criticized because project funding is distributed less on comparative merit than on clout, including a lawmaker’s committee assignment or leadership post and whether the lawmaker’s party is in the majority or faces a competitive re-election.

Congressional leaders expanded disclosure rules this year, requiring lawmakers to post on their Web sites all their earmark requests, including who would get the money and why it’s a good use of taxpayer dollars. In the past, most lawmakers have disclosed only those requests that were funded.

Other changes this year to the process include:

Disclosing earlier the earmarks included in spending bills. Earmarks have to be identified when a subcommittee reports a bill instead of when the full committee does.

Limiting earmarks to 50 percent of what was spent in 2006 and to 1 percent of the funding that Congress annually approves.

Giving federal agencies 20 days to check that a proposed earmark is eligible for funding. This rule applies only to House members.