Appropriate Congressionally Directed Spending vs. Earmarks

Background

Congressman Jason Chaffetz is committed to increased openness, transparency, and reform in the annual federal appropriations process, especially as it relates to earmarks. In fact, Congressman Chaffetz took a pledge that he would not seek any earmarks until these reforms were in place. Rather than wait for Congress to enact these reforms, Congressman Chaffetz is leading out not only by example, but also with his own proposal. The following "DRAFT" guidance document is open for public comment. Individuals desiring to submit comments regarding this proposal are invited to submit them at ttps://forms.house.gov/chaffetz/contact-form.shtml"https://forms.house.gov/chaffetz/contact-form.shtml. Comments are due by August 20, 2009.

Overview

The Founders did not grant the Executive Branch sole discretion to determine spending priorities for the nation. On the contrary, the U.S. Constitution expressly gives Congress the authority to direct federal spending.

Each year Congress enacts the appropriations bills which fund the operations of the federal government. As part of this process, individual congressional member offices may consider and submit to the Appropriations Committee funding requests for individual projects. These projects are often subject to scorn, as Americans perceive that Congress is not appropriating funds in a transparent fashion, nor is it funding projects with a justifiable federal purpose. Many Americans feel strongly, and for good reason, that too often Congress' actions in this regard waste U.S. taxpayers' scarce dollars on local "pork" projects that should be the responsibility of local communities.

With record levels of debt and out-of-control spending, it is imperative that Congress ensure and certify to the American people that its appropriations practices represent and protect the interests of U.S. taxpayers. The appropriations process must be free from the taint of abuse, stains of corruption, cronyism, or charges of "pay to play" type schemes, wherein members of Congress submit requests in exchange for campaign support or other favored treatment.

For the most part, both Congress and the Administration have failed to enact true reforms. Some current reform proposals are a step in the right direction, but are still inadequate. Congressman Chaffetz is personally leading out on this effort and offers this document to help interested parties to distinguish between projects funded through appropriate congressionally directed spending (CDS), which he will consider supporting, and traditional "earmarks," which he will not.

Guiding Principles

As Congress and the Administration advance various reform proposals, the Office of Congressman Chaffetz puts forth the following guiding principles, some of which have been implemented:

The federal appropriations process must be conducted in an open and transparent fashion, one which restores the American public's confidence in the system.

When a member submits a request for CDS, the appropriate Executive Branch agency must have a reasonable period in which to review the project to ensure it is eligible to receive funds and meets goals established in law and official policies.

Each request for CDS must receive proper vetting and debate by the appropriate subcommittee, which should compare and prioritize the requests. If available, Congressional Budget Office Reports (CBO) on the effectiveness of federal agency programs seeking CDS should accompany the request.

All requests for CDS must be submitted to the Appropriations Subcommittee of jurisdiction prior to the committee deadline. There should be no "air-dropped" earmarks that bypass these important subcommittee and committee reviews.

Rather than funding all requests with some degree of merit, sustainable and responsible funding levels must be set, and only the highest priority items within those levels should be funded.

It is appropriate for public entities (municipalities, counties, state agencies, and public universities) to seek federal funding for projects where there is a justifiable federal nexus between the requested funds and the proposed project(s). Absent such a federal nexus, requests should not be considered.

Public entity beneficiaries of CDS must award contracts to for-profit entities only through competitive bidding processes. Exceptions should be extremely rare, and must be disclosed and approved by the appropriate committee before the CDS is awarded.

Members must post prominently on their official web sites information about all projects for which they submit requests, including the proposed recipient, the recipient's address, the amount, and an explanation of the purpose and federal nexus of the request.

Members must submit into the Congressional Record, once (and if) the project is funded, a detailed finance plan showing how the federal monies will be spent and justifying the use of taxpayers' resources.

Members must certify that neither they nor their immediate family will benefit financially from approval of the request.

Each appropriations bill must be available for public scrutiny on the day its subcommittee reports the bill. A list detailing each CDS request in the bill and the Member who made the request should accompany the bill.\

Criteria for Funding

All federal funding requests submitted to the office of Congressman Jason Chaffetz are subject to the following criteria:

All federal funding requests and/or targeted tax benefit requests will be publicly disclosed on Congressman Chaffetz' official website, "http://www.chaffetz.house.gov"www.chaffetz.house.gov, under the tab "Appropriations."

Funding requests from public and non-profit (e.g., private universities, colleges and schools) entities will be considered, if a sufficient federal nexus is established. Requests from for-profit entities will not be considered. Funding requests for "pass-throughs" (public entities requesting funds on behalf of for-profit entities) will also not be considered. All parties are encouraged to bring subject matter experts to describe and explain the request as appropriate.

Only requests for projects such as public infrastructure, the U.S. military, appropriate research and development with applications to benefit the nation, and activities on federal lands will be considered, e.g., water, wastewater, roads, airports, national defense, homeland/border security, disaster mitigation or insect eradication on federal lands, etc.

Only projects for which there is an established federal nexus will be considered, e.g., interstate commerce, aid in compliance with federal mandates, or other projects for which a defensible purpose exists for requesting federal government funding under the U.S. Constitution.

Projects should be reviewed by the appropriate entities of the state and/or local jurisdictions impacted, as well as regional planning organizations, in the case of transportation infrastructure projects.

Projects must meet all non-federal matching requirements.

Funding requests will not be considered for a program that is not currently authorized by Congress.

Funding requests will not be supported for any projects that are requested after the House appropriations deadline.

Requestor must sign a financial certification stating that neither the requesting official nor anyone within the agency has any direct or foreseeable pecuniary interest in the project.

Summary

All projects requesting congressionally directed funding must:

Go through an open process;

Be scrutinized through the committee system;

Have an appropriate federal nexus;

Benefit the American public through a public entity.

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