The Center for Public Integrity

U.S. House Democrats and Republicans are in the midst of one-upping each other on the issue of earmarks – the very sort of earmarks that were the subject of a major Center investigation, The Murtha Method last fall. But this time it’s not about which party can insert the most earmarks for pet projects into legislation. Instead, House members are hurrying to shun earmarks as the politically toxic symbols of inside-the-Beltway corruption and fiscal imprudence. Yet to be seen is whether Senate lawmakers will also swear off earmarks.

U.S. House Democrats and Republicans are in the midst of one-upping each other on the issue of earmarks – the very sort of earmarks that were the subject of a major Center investigation, The Murtha Method, last fall. But this time it’s not about which party can insert the most earmarks for pet projects into legislation. Instead, House members are hurrying to shun earmarks as the politically toxic symbols of inside-the-Beltway corruption and fiscal imprudence. Yet to be seen is whether Senate lawmakers will also swear off earmarks.

The transportation lobby stands united in its collective angst with Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, whose objections to deficit spending brought many of the federal government’s highway programs to a halt Sunday night. The political impasse over a $10 billion bill extending unemployment benefits carried the additional consequence of halting spending from the federal highway trust fund, which pays for roads, bridges and safety inspections. Until the stand-off ends, thousands of federal employees are furloughed and hundreds of millions in state funding is in limbo.