Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House:
Member and Committee Requirements
Updated March 11, 2021
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
RS22866
Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House: Member and Committee Requirements
Summary
Earmark disclosure rules in both the House and Senate establish certain administrative
responsibilities that vary by chamber. Under House rules, a Member requesting that an earmark
be included in legislation is responsible for providing specific written information, such as the
purpose and recipient of the earmark, to the committee of jurisdiction. Further, House committees
are responsible for compiling, presenting, and maintaining such requests in accord with House
rules. In the House, disclosure rules apply to any congressional earmark, limited tax benefit, or
limited tariff benefit included in either the text of a bil or any report accompanying the measure,
including a conference report and joint explanatory statement. The disclosure requirements apply
to earmarks in appropriations legislation, authorizing legislation, and tax measures. Furthermore,
they apply not only to measures reported by committees but also to measures not reported by
committees, “manager’s amendments,” and conference reports. This report wil be updated as
needed.
Congressional Research Service
link to page 4 link to page 4 link to page 5 link to page 5 link to page 6 link to page 7
Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House: Member and Committee Requirements
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
House Earmark Disclosure Rule ........................................................................................ 1
Legislation Subject to the Rule .......................................................................................... 2
Requirements for Members Submitting Earmark Requests .................................................... 2
Requirements for Committees ........................................................................................... 3
Contacts
Author Information ......................................................................................................... 4
Congressional Research Service
Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House: Member and Committee Requirements
Introduction
In the 110th Congress (2007-2008), the House and Senate codified earmark disclosure
requirements into their respective chamber rules with the stated intention of bringing more
transparency to the earmarking process. In the 112th Congress (2011-2012), the House and Senate
began observing what has been referred to as an “earmark moratorium” or “earmark ban.”1 The
earmark disclosure rules in both the House and Senate, however, remain in place. For more
information on the earmark moratorium, see CRS Report R45429,
Lifting the Earmark
Moratorium: Frequently Asked Questions, by Megan S. Lynch.
The administrative responsibilities associated with earmark disclosure rules vary by chamber.
This report outlines the major administrative responsibilities of Members and committees of the
House of Representatives associated with the chamber’s earmark disclosure rules.
House Earmark Disclosure Rule
House Rule XXI, clause 9(a), general y requires that certain types of measures be accompanied
by either (1) a list of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits that
are included in the measure or its report or (2) a statement that the proposition contains no
earmarks.2 Depending upon the type of measure, the list or statement is to be either included in
the measure’s accompanying report or printed in the
Congressional Record.
Rule XXI, clause 9, explicitly defines
congressional earmark,
limited tax benefit, and
limited
tariff benefit as follows:
Congressional earmark- a provision or report language included primarily at the request
of a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, or Senator providing, authorizing or
recommending a specific amount of discretionary budget authority, credit authority, or
other spending authority for a contract, loan, loan guarantee, grant, loan authority, or other
expenditure with or to an entity, or targeted to a specific State, locality or congressional
district, other than through a statutory or administrative formula driven or competitive
award process.
Limited tax benefit- (1) any revenue-losing provision that (A) provides a federal tax
deduction, credit, exclusion, or preference to 10 or fewer beneficiaries under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, and (B) contains eligibility criteria that are not uniform in
application with respect to potential beneficiaries of such provision; or (2) any federal tax
provision which provides one beneficiary temporary or permanent transition relief from a
change to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Limited tariff benefit- a provision modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States in a manner that benefits 10 or fewer entities.
House Rule XXI, clause 9(b), requires that a conference report to accompany a regular general
appropriation bil include either (1) an earmark disclosure statement listing al congressional
earmarks and limited tax and tariff benefits that were neither committed to the conference by
1 T he earmark moratorium was not at any time formalized in law or in House or Senate rules. Instead, the moratorium
has been established by party rules and committee protocols and has been enforced by chamber and committee
leadership through their agenda-setting power.
2 For the purposes of this report, from this point forward the term
earmark includes any congressional earmark, limited
tax benefit , or limited tariff benefit.
Congressional Research Service
1
Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House: Member and Committee Requirements
either House nor contained in a report of a committee of either House on such bil or companion
measure or (2) a statement that the conference report contains no such provisions.3
To enforce these requirements, if either the disclosure list of earmarks or the statement that no
earmark exists in the measure is absent, any Member may raise a point of order against the
measure’s floor consideration.4 The point of order applies only in the absence of such a list or
statement and does not speak to the completeness or the accuracy of either document.5
Legislation Subject to the Rule
House earmark disclosure rules apply to any congressional earmark included in either the text of
the bil or the committee report accompanying the bil as wel as the conference report and joint
explanatory statement. The disclosure requirements apply to items in authorizing legislation,
appropriations legislation, and tax measures. Furthermore, they apply not only to measures
reported by committees but also to unreported measures, “manager’s amendments,”6 Senate bil s,
and conference reports.
These earmark disclosure requirements, however, do not apply to al legislation at al times. For
example, when a measure is considered under the “suspension of the rules” procedure, House
rules are laid aside, and therefore earmark disclosure rules do not apply. Also not subject to the
rule are floor amendments (except a manager’s amendment), amendments between the houses, or
amendments considered as adopted under a self-executing special rule, including a committee
amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text.7
Requirements for Members Submitting Earmark
Requests
Under House Rule XXIII, clause 17(a), a Member8 requesting a congressional earmark is
required to provide a written statement to the chairman and ranking minority Member of the
committee of jurisdiction that includes
1. the Member’s name;
2. the name and address of the intended earmark recipient (or, if there is no specific
recipient, the location of the intended activity);
3 House Rule XXI, clause 9(b). Such a point of order would be disposed of by a question of consideration, which is
debatable for 20 minutes. House Rule XXI, clause 9(c).
4 In addition, House Rule XXI, clause 9(c), prohibits the consideration of a special rule reported from the House
Committee on Rules that would waive the disclosure requirements described above. Any point of order raised under
House Rule XXI, clause 9(c), would be disposed of by a question of consideration, which is debatable for 20 minutes.
5 House Rule XXI, clause 9(d). U.S. Congress, House,
Constitution, Jefferson’s Manual, and Rules of the House of
Representatives of the United States, 115th Congress, H. Doc 115-177 (Washington: GPO, 2019), §1068d.
6 As defined in the rule and clarified in a letter from the House Parliamentarian to the chairman of the House
Committee on Rules (
Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 153 [October 3, 2007], pp. H11184-H11185), a
“manager’s amendment” is “an amendment offered at the outset of consideration for amendment by a member of a
committee of initial referral under the terms of a special rule.”
7
Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 153 [October 3, 2007], pp. H11184-H11185.
8 In this report,
Member includes Members, delegates, or the resident commissioner.
Congressional Research Service
2
Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House: Member and Committee Requirements
3. in the case of a limited tax or tariff benefit, identification of the individual or
entities reasonably anticipated to benefit to the extent known to the Member;
4. the purpose of the earmark; and
5. a certification that the Member or Member’s spouse has no financial interest in
such an earmark.9
When submitting earmark requests, it is important to note that individual committees and
subcommittees often have their own additional administrative requirements beyond those
required by House rules (e.g., prioritizing requests or submitting request forms online). The
House Appropriations Committee, for example, has stated that it wil require Members requesting
earmarks to post information regarding their requests on their websites.10
Committees may also establish relevant policy requirements (e.g., requiring matching funds for
earmark requests) or restrictions regarding earmark requests (e.g., not considering earmark
requests for certain appropriations accounts or disal owing multiyear funding requests). In
addition, committees and subcommittees often have deadlines, especial y for earmark requests in
appropriations legislation. For this reason, it is important to check with individual committees and
subcommittees to learn of any supplemental earmark request requirements or restrictions.11
The committee of jurisdiction is responsible for identifying earmarks in both the legislative text
and any accompanying reports. When it is not clear whether a Member request constitutes an
earmark, the committee of jurisdiction may be able to provide guidance.
When submitting an earmark request, it may be relevant whether the Member wants the earmark
to be included in the text of the bil or the committee report accompanying the bil . Committees
may make an administrative distinction between these two categories in terms of the submission
of earmark requests, and there may be policy implications of an earmark’s placement in either the
bil text or the committee report. For example, under Executive Order 13457,12 issued in January
2008, executive agencies are directed to not commit, obligate, or expend funds that were the
result of an earmark included in non-statutory language, such as a committee report.
Requirements for Committees
Under House rules, earmark disclosure responsibilities of House committees and conference
committees fal into three major categories: (1) determining if a spending provision is an earmark,
(2) compiling earmark requests for presentation to the full chamber, and (3) preserving the
earmark requests. Individual committees may establish their own additional requirements.
Committees of jurisdiction must use their discretion to decide what constitutes an earmark.
Definitions in House rules, as well as past earmark designations, may provide guidance in
determining if a certain provision constitutes an earmark.
9 Guidance and clarification in determining a financial interest is available in U.S. Congress, House Committee on
Standards of Official Conduct,
The House Ethics Manual, 110th Cong., 2nd sess., 2008, (Washington: GPO, 2008), pp.
238-239. Available also at http://ethics.house.gov/Media/PDF/2008_House_Ethics_Manual.pdf.
10 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, “DeLauro Announces Community Project Funding in Fiscal
Year 2022,” 117th Cong., 1st sess., February 26, 2021, https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/delauro-
announces-community-project-funding-in-fiscal-year-2022.
11 Often these requirements are communicated through a “Dear Colleague” letter or through the committee’s website.
12 Executive Order 13457, “Protecting American T axpayers from Governmental Spending on Wasteful Earmarks,” 73
Federal Register 22, January 29, 2008.
Congressional Research Service
3
Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House: Member and Committee Requirements
House rules state that in the case of any reported bil or conference report, a list of included
earmarks and their sponsors (or a statement declaring the absence of earmarks) must be included
in the corresponding committee report or joint explanatory statement.13 In the case of a measure
not reported by a committee or a manager’s amendment, the committee of initial referral must
cause a list of earmarks and their sponsors, or a letter stating the absence of earmarks, to be
printed in the
Congressional Record before floor consideration is in order.14
A conference report to accompany a regular appropriations bil must identify congressional
earmarks in the conference report or joint explanatory statement that were neither committed to
the conference by either House nor contained in a report of a committee of either House on such
bil or companion measure.15
Each House committee and conference committee is responsible for “maintaining” al written
requests for earmarks received, even those not ultimately included in the measure or the
measure’s report.16 Furthermore, those requests that were included in any measure reported by the
committee must be not only “maintained” but also “open for public inspection.” The rule does not
specify how the information shal be “maintained” and “open for public inspection.”
Author Information
Megan S. Lynch
Specialist on Congress and the Legislative Process
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should n ot be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
13 House Rule XXI, clause 9(a)(1) and (4).
14 House Rule XXI, clause 9(a)(2) and (3).
15 House Rule XXI, clause 9(b). In previous years, it was the practice to include such earmarks in the list required by
Rule XXI, clause 9(b), and identify them with asterisks. Note that the Senate defines items related to earmark
disclosure somewhat differently. For more information, see CRS Report RS22867,
Earm ark Disclosure Rules in the
Senate: Mem ber and Com m ittee Requirem ents, by Megan S. Lynch.
16 House Rule XXIII, clause 17(b).
Congressional Research Service
RS22866
· VERSION 12 · UPDATED
4