Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, formally announced a return to earmarks, offering details for how the spending will work in the Senate, The Hill reported. "Today I'm announcing that the Senate Appropriations Committee will again accept requests for congressionally directed spending items on a bipartisan basis, requests of both the Republican leadership and Democratic leadership and will do so in a manner that promotes accountability and transparency," Leahy said from the Senate floor. Under the rules for requesting the congressional spending, lawmakers can not request spending for an item related to their financial interest or those of their immediate family and the request must be made in writing. The committee will also publicly disclose the requests online. Leahy is also implementing new rules, which align with a proposal from House Democrats earlier this year. Money for earmarks will be capped at 1 percent of discretionary spending, which Republicans have estimated will amount to roughly $4 billon per side. There will also be a ban on requesting the earmarks to go toward for-profit entities. The Government Accountability Office would also be required to audit a sample of enacted earmarks to ensure that the funding was used for its original intent.
