While the Department of Government Efficiency has taken aim at wasteful spending throughout the federal government, so far it has not set its sights on earmarks.
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.