A year-long “omnibus” funding package that would expire at the end of the current fiscal year in September 2023 is now being negotiated by senators, who aim to include over 7,500 earmarks totaling $16 billion.
On Tuesday night, many legislators made public statements suggesting that a comprehensive framework agreement had been reached. There are over 7,500 earmarks worth $16 billion spread among 2023 appropriations bills produced throughout the year, Bloomberg Government reported earlier in the day.
According to Bloomberg Government, the 2023 appropriations bills have 3,123 earmarks with a total value of $7,780,973,000 from the Senate and 4,386 earmarks with a total value of $8,231,999,565.
According to a study by Bloomberg Government of nine papers issued by the Senate Appropriations Committee in July, the Senate included 3,123 earmarks with a total value of $7,780,973,000 in its fiscal 2023 appropriations proposals. All the earmarks have been collected into one convenient Excel sheet from the nine individual PDFs. An earlier this year study determined that the House contained 4,386 earmarks with a total value of $8,231,999,565. This link will take you to a central Excel file with all the House earmarks. The Senate and House have released 7,509 earmarks worth $16,012,972,565.
Compared to the overall government financing package that legislators hope to pass this year, which is expected to be around $1.7 trillion, the amount budgeted is less than 1%. When members voted to reinstate earmarking in preparation for the fiscal year 2022, they also decided to set a one percent cap.
Spending clauses known as “earmarks” have been appended by legislators in both the House and the Senate to legislation that is on the verge of being signed into law. “a specific entity or state, municipality, or congressional district other than through a legislative or administrative formula or competitive award procedure,” as defined by the Congressional Research Service.
In the end, they make it possible for politicians to reward their contributors and special interests by including “pork” in-laws that support projects in their districts. Typically, politicians would say that earmarks can assist in breaking the partisan stalemate, as Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak put it. If there’s enough payoff for the constituents back home (or the campaign funds), a politician could agree to go against the party line.
If negotiators can agree on the omnibus, Bloomberg Government said, some of the “biggest beneficiaries” would be “powerful” departing senators. Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has requested $213 million for pet projects. In comparison, Senate Appropriations Vice Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) has asked for $656 million, and Senate Armed Services Ranking Member Jim Inhofe (R-OK) has requested $511 million.
According to a study by Bloomberg Government, Shelby has the most designated funding for the second year, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Alabama State Port Authority will receive $200 million, the Woolsey Finnell Bridge across the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa will receive $100 million in DOT funding, and the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham will receive $76 million.
Importantly, it’s likely that legislators will only be able to agree on an omnibus package and that the deal will be postponed until next year after the outgoing lawmakers have left Congress. Their plans may be eliminated during the following Congressional talks if that happens.