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BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN

THE TOP

Democrats are bringing earmarks back. And they’re trying to clean them up.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the new chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations panels, will announce in the coming weeks that Democrats will reinstate earmarks — also known as “member-directed spending” — in next fiscal year’s spending bills.

Democrats say they will be transparent and disclose the details of each earmark — who requested it, and which entity would get the money. Members cannot request earmarks for entities to which they have financial ties. And Congress will not allow earmarks for for-profit institutions, such as private companies. Earmarks will be limited to state and local governments and nonprofits that carry out quasi-government functions. There will be limits on how much of each spending bill can be allocated toward earmarks.

Some lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), have been arguing for years that Congress should bring back earmarks. The idea is to give members of Congress a personal stake in spending bills.

Hoyer and other pro-earmark lawmakers also argue that no one knows the needs of a state or congressional district better than the people who represent them in Congress.

DeLauro, who publicly supported reinstating earmarks in her campaign for the Appropriations gavel, is expected to make a formal announcement as soon as next week, when Congress returns from the Presidents’ Day recess.

“Chair DeLauro has been clear that she supports Member-directed funding for community projects,” said Evan Hollander, communications director for the House Appropriations Committee, in a statement. “She is working through the details of a reformed process, and will share additional information with Members and the public in the coming weeks.”

“Chairman Leahy has been clear about his intent to restore congressionally directed spending in a transparent and accountable way as part Congress’ constitutional power of the purse,” said Jay Tilton, press secretary for the Senate Appropriations panel.

Republicans ended earmarks when they took control of the House in 2011 following years of controversy. (Remember the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere?” Shout out to Don Young! ) Then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was fine with banning the practice since he never sought earmarks anyway. Around that time, Senate Republicans came under pressure to adopt the same stance as their House counterparts. They eventually did.

Earmarks led to several huge political scandals, such as the one that sent ex-GOP Rep. Duke Cunningham to prison — former President Donald Trump pardoned the disgraced Vietnam War hero before leaving office. The PMA Group scandal — an episode that almost took down the powerful former Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) — was the nail in the coffin for earmarking.

There have been calls to bring back earmarks under limited circumstances in the last decade. Banning the practice stripped congressional leaders of a powerful tool. There was never the political will to bring them back — until now. In fact, the Senate Republican Conference endorsed a permanent ban on earmarks last Congress, so it’s not clear what the GOP reaction will be. Publicly, it’ll likely be negative. In private, maybe not so much.

How will this impact D.C.? This is a big deal for a lot of reasons. This will rejuvenate a whole line of business for lobbying shops. Appropriations lobbying was once a very lucrative corner of the influence market — that will come back now. 

This has the potential to make life easier for the leadership. Earmarks are a carrot to help convince lawmakers to vote for spending bills. They can also be a stick for problematic members. The new policy also makes DeLauro and Leahy quite powerful — they will have a huge say in which projects get funded, and which don’t. 

Here’s a question worth pondering: will House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy allow his lawmakers to take earmarks, or will he use this as an opportunity to try to set Republicans apart? Rule 30 of the House GOP rules ban Republicans requesting earmarks. But there are many Republicans who will want to change that given the shifting politics.

DEPT. OF SPEED

All eyes on Biden, Dems now

Now that impeachment is out of the way, Joe Biden and congressional Democrats have 27 days to construct and pass their Covid-relief bill. That’s a daunting task. You can see by the USA Today and NYT front pages above that the collective eyes of the media and everyone else are shifting back toward Biden and the Democrats’ efforts. The House Budget Committee will begin this week to assemble the package ahead of expected floor consideration next week.

Here are some trip wires and big issues we have our eyes on:

→ Minimum wage. Senate leadership is unsure whether they’ll be able to squeeze a $15 minimum wage into this package due to arcane budget rules. Furthermore, it appears Democrats don’t have the votes in the Senate for a minimum wage increase. If the minimum wage boost falls out, how many votes do Democrats lose in the House? If it stays in, can Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) convince Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to support it? They have both publicly stated their opposition.

→ Price tag. Biden has been clear that he wants a $1.9 trillion bill, but says the final price tag is a subject of negotiation. Where does this bill net out? And how does that impact the whip count for Biden?

→ Timeline. March 14 is sooner than you think. Congress isn’t in session this week, although the leadership in both chambers and a handful of committees are working. That leaves three legislative weeks to get this package through the House and Senate. And remember: If it gets changed in the Senate — which it seems like it will — it needs to come back to the House for another vote.

PUNCHBOWL NEWS x CLUBHOUSE

Do you have plans tomorrow night? Are you on Clubhouse? If you answered no and yes, we have great news for you: We are hosting a Clubhouse chat tomorrow night with Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) about the upcoming Financial Services hearing on Robinhood and so-called meme stock trading. That hearing is this Thursday.

Hop on Clubhouse at 8 p.m. Tuesday night for the event — add it to your calendar here.

We’ll bring some people up to talk, so let us know if you want to get in on that.

POWER CENTER

Tester to chair Defense spending panel

Getty Images

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) got a plum position for this Congress: he is taking over as chair of the Defense subcommittee on the Senate Appropriations Committee. That subcommittee oversees $700 billion a year in Pentagon spending, and it often comes under the control of whoever chairs the full Appropropriations Committee. For instance, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) chaired the subcommittee simultaneously as he chaired the full panel. 

But Democrats changed their rules on doling out subcommittee assignments thanks to a proposal by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and that led to Tester getting this prize.

“I’m honored to take on this new role that’ll give me the opportunity to better fight for our service members in Montana, across the country, and around the world,” Tester said in a statement.

Montana is home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which is one of three Minuteman III ICBM bases in the United States. It’s also a major employer in the Big Sky State.

And Tester is a big supporter of the “Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent” program. That’s the missile system that will replace the Minuteman III. Estimated cost: $100 billion or more. Northrop Grumman just got a $13 billion contract last fall to start “Engineering and Manufacturing Development” on the program, and they’ll be happy to see Tester get this post.

CLIP FILE

NYT: “Biden Takes Center Stage With Ambitious Agenda as Trump’s Trial Ends,” by Michael Shear

“Lara Trump for North Carolina Senate Seat? Trump’s Trial Is Renewing Talk,” by Annie Karni and Jonathan Martin

WaPo: “Trump’s acquittal further polarizes factions within the GOP,” by Amy B Wang

“Biden is winning Republican support for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. Just not in Washington,” by Griff White

WSJ: “Interior Secretary Nominee on Collision Course With Oil Industry,” by Timothy Puko

AP: “Anatomy of a conspiracy: With COVID, China took leading role,” by Erika Kinetz

“The superspreaders behind top COVID-19 conspiracy theories,” by David Lepper, Farnoush AMiri and Beatrice Dupuy

Politico: “Yang hits donation threshold to get city matching funds,” by Erin Durkin

WSJ ED BOARD VS. TRUMP

WSJ to GOP: Move on from Trump

The WSJ Editorial Board had this to say about Donald Trump this morning: “Mr. Trump may run again, but he won’t win another national election. He lost re-election before the events of Jan. 6, and as President his job approval never rose above 50%. He may go on a revenge campaign tour, or run as a third-party candidate, but all he will accomplish is to divide the center-right and elect Democrats. The GOP’s defeats in the two Jan. 5 Georgia Senate races proved that. The country is moving past the Trump Presidency, and the GOP will remain in the wilderness until it does too.”

MOMENTS

2:15 p.m.: President Joe Biden will leave Camp David for Hagerstown Regional Airport and he’ll fly to Joint Base Andrews.

3 p.m.: Biden will leave JBA for the White House.

3:10 p.m.: Biden will arrive at the White House.

Biden’s week: Tuesday: Biden will go to Milwaukee for a CNN town hall … Thursday: Biden will go to a Pfizer manufacturing site in Kalamazoo, Mich., to meet with people producing the Covid-19 vaccine … Friday: Biden will participate in a virtual G7 meeting and speak at an event hosted by the Munich Security Conference.

PUNCHBOWL EVENTS

Errin Haines on The Lookahead

Errin Haines, editor-at-large of the 19th, joined the Punchbowl News team for the lookahead last week. Click above to watch her describe her recent interview with Vice President Kamala Harris and click here for what we’re watching this week in Washington. 

The Lookahead is for Punchbowl News Premium members only. Subscribe to join us every Sunday night.

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