House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) on Feb. 28, 2023, released the fiscal year (FY) 2024 guidance for Community Project Funding (CPF), also known as earmarks. Community project funding allows House members to fund specific projects for state, local or tribal governmental grantees and certain eligible nonprofits. In the Senate, members engage in a similar earmark process called Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS).
Before the 118th Congress was seated in January 2023, House Republicans indicated that they intended to revisit the community project funding process. The House Appropriations Committee, based on input from the majority leadership and the GOP caucus, has made several fundamental changes to the process in FY 2024 that limit the reach and scope of projects that may be funded.
As part of their national platform to lower federal spending, House Republicans will reduce the number of federal dollars appropriated for House earmarks. For FY 2024, the total sum of earmarks in the House will not exceed one-half of 1 percent of discretionary spending. In the 117th Congress, under the leadership of the former Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the total sum of earmarks could be up to 1 percent of discretionary spending. With this change, the number of House earmarks and/or their dollar amounts could be significantly lower than in past funding bills. The Senate guidance remains the same as in the 117th Congress, with funding not to exceed 1 percent.
In addition to reduced funding, there are several other new requirements. House members must:
- identify a federal "nexus" for their requested projects
- cite a specific section of the U.S. Code that supports the project
- provide an explanation as to why it is a good use of taxpayer dollars, and
- not make requests for "memorials, museums, and commemoratives (i.e., projects named for an individual or entity)
The House is also changing the accounts in which projects may be requested. Many accounts are no longer "open" for earmarks, and new substantive limits are proposed for some of the accounts that remain open. In a few instances, however, new accounts have been opened to earmarks.
House members can no longer submit community project funding requests through the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (LHHS-Ed), Financial Services and Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations bills. This change will impact healthcare entities, schools and universities, workforce programs and other nonprofit entities that previously received LHHS-Ed projects; as well as small business incubator programs funded through the Financial Services bill. The Senate also imposed a ban on DoD earmarks, but this change is relatively insignificant because there were only a handful of such projects funded in the 117th Congress. Eligible entities may continue to request earmark funding through the LHHS-Ed and Financial Services bills in the Senate.
In bills that are still open for projects, the House made numerous account changes, including:
Energy and Water Appropriations Bill
- U.S. Department of Energy no longer eligible (previous bills allowed projects for energy-related research, facility upgrades and related activities focused on matters such as alternative energy, sustainable energy and energy efficiency).
Interior/Environment Appropriations Bill
- Land and Water Conservation Fund no longer eligible.
- State and Private Forestry no longer eligible.
House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Bill
- Port Infrastructure Development Grants is a new account.
- Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) is a new account.
- HUD Economic Development Initiatives (EDIs) are still available but their scope is limited to capital improvement and land-related initiatives, and certain projects such as health facilities and museums are explicitly made ineligible. In addition, where guidance was explicit last year in not allowing fire stations, it is silent this year.
Earmark Deadlines per Committee
