Federal funding for pet projects obtained by lawmakers for their states and local communities鈥攚hat Washington commonly calls earmarks鈥攁re back. And their return to Capitol Hill could create a new avenue for school districts and some education organizations to fund projects to address the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the newly installed chair of the House appropriations committee, (which she called 鈥渃ommunity project funding鈥�) late last month. Earmarks function outside the regular, annual process through which Washington funds programs including special education and the Title I program for low-income students.
When it comes to education, earmarks haven鈥檛 necessarily been a huge source of funding in relative terms, but but that doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檝e been minuscule. In the federal government鈥檚 fiscal 2008 budget, for example, the U.S. Department of Education received funding for 945 earmarks totaling $383.3 million out of a $68.6 billion budget. That鈥檚 an average of $405,291 per earmark, if you鈥檙e scoring at home.
Earmarks come out of discretionary spending and are therefore funded at the expense of longstanding, popular programs like Title I. However, this year, there might be less of a fight for dollars, since Congress has more flexibility than in recent years to significantly increase education spending, said Sarah Abernathy, the executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, an umbrella lobbying group.
That鈥檚 because caps on discretionary spending that have recently constrained it won鈥檛 be an issue, meaning less of a zero-sum game between earmarks and other spending. (Read more about those caps .)
鈥淚f Congress is going to bring back earmarks, this is the year to do it,鈥� Abernathy said. She added that in her view, there鈥檚 鈥渘othing inherently good or bad about having earmarks.鈥�
Past earmarks for education have funded everything from after-school programs to school construction. As schools respond to the pandemic, there could be a lot of interest in鈥攁nd competition for鈥攅armarked spending on things like upgraded HVAC systems, programs that provide extended learning time beyond the regular school day, and other needs. Abernathy said that鈥檚 鈥渁bsolutely鈥� her expectation.
DeLauro, by the way, also heads the House appropriations subcommittee for K-12 education spending. She鈥檚 led that panel since 2019.
Efforts to make funding for pet projects more transparent
Earmarks have a long and controversial history in Congress. Lawmakers put a moratorium on earmarks in 2011 after Republicans took control of the House.
Supporters say they can provide crucial and worthy support for things like local infrastructure projects, and can be useful negotiating chits when members of Congress are trying to pass important or prominent bills. Critics say they often fund wasteful projects and create a too-chummy, if not sleazy, climate on Capitol Hill that is far from transparent.
Here鈥檚 how the new process for earmarks will work: Groups ask their member of Congress for an earmark for a specific project (for-profit entities are barred from receiving earmarks directly). DeLauro said each lawmaker can submit up to 10 requests for earmarks. Lawmakers must post their earmark requests in an online, searchable database. And there鈥檚 a similar requirement for projects that are actually funded in appropriations bills. These requirements represent DeLauro鈥檚 efforts to make the process more open to the public and address the concerns about transparency.
Earmarks will be limited to 1 percent of discretionary spending, following a bipartisan committee鈥檚 recommendation. But in response to a question from 91直播, a spokesman for the House appropriations committee did not specify if that means Education Department earmarks specifically will be limited to 1 percent of the department鈥檚 discretionary funding.
Any earmark Congress adopts won鈥檛 be enacted until fiscal 2022, which officially begins Oct. 1. So earmarks won鈥檛 represent a fast injection of cash for schools to help with the coronavirus or other needs. However, Congress has struggled mightily in the last several years to pass spending bills on time; fights over funding the government have dragged on past the start of October for weeks or months, and government shutdowns have occasionally been the result.
If nothing else, Abernathy said, the return of earmarks might help with those negotiations and get Congress to pass spending bills closer to Oct 1.
Separately, the Senate will soon take up a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that includes $129 billion in relief for schools; the House passed the bill last week. Learn more about what鈥檚 in that legislation for K-12 education here.
