1.Congressional earmark
reform
The Standing Rules of the Senate are
amended by adding at the end the following:
1.It shall not be in
order to consider—
(a)a bill or joint
resolution reported by a committee unless the report includes a list, which
shall be made available on the Internet in a searchable format to the general
public for at least 48 hours before consideration of the bill or joint
resolution, of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, and limited tariff
benefits in the bill or in the report (and the name of any Member who submitted
a request to the committee for each respective item included in such list) or a
statement that the proposition contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits;
(b)a bill or joint
resolution not reported by a committee unless the chairman of each committee of
jurisdiction has caused a list, which shall be made available on the Internet
in a searchable format to the general public for at least 48 hours before
consideration of the bill or joint resolution, of congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, and limited tariff benefits in the bill (and the name of
any Member who submitted a request to the committee for each respective item
included in such list) or a statement that the proposition contains no
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits to be
printed in the Congressional Record prior to its consideration; or
(c)a conference
report to accompany a bill or joint resolution unless the joint explanatory
statement prepared by the managers on the part of the House and the managers on
the part of the Senate includes a list, which shall be made available on the
Internet in a searchable format to the general public for at least 48 hours
before consideration of the conference report, of congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, and limited tariff benefits in the conference report or
joint statement (and the name of any Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner,
or Senator who submitted a request to the House or Senate committees of
jurisdiction for each respective item included in such list) or a statement
that the proposition contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits.
2.For the purpose of
this rule—
(a)the term
congressional earmark means 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;
(b)the term
limited tax benefit means—
(1)any revenue
provision that—
(A)provides a
Federal tax deduction, credit, exclusion, or preference to a particular
beneficiary or limited group of 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; and
(c)the term
limited tariff benefit means a provision modifying the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States in a manner that benefits 10 or fewer
entities.
3.A Member may not
condition the inclusion of language to provide funding for a congressional
earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff benefit in any bill or
joint resolution (or an accompanying report) or in any conference report on a
bill or joint resolution (including an accompanying joint explanatory statement
of managers) on any vote cast by another Member, Delegate, or Resident
Commissioner.
4. (a) A
Member who requests a congressional earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a
limited tariff benefit in any bill or joint resolution (or an accompanying
report) or in any conference report on a bill or joint resolution (or an
accompanying joint statement of managers) shall provide a written statement to
the chairman and ranking member of the committee of jurisdiction,
including—
(1)the name of the
Member;
(2)in the case of a
congressional earmark, the name and address of the intended recipient or, if
there is no specifically intended recipient, the intended location of the
activity;
(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
such congressional earmark or limited tax or tariff benefit; and
(5)a certification
that the Member or spouse has no financial interest in such congressional
earmark or limited tax or tariff benefit.
(b)Each committee
shall maintain the written statements transmitted under subparagraph (a). The
written statements transmitted under subparagraph (a) for any congressional
earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits included in any
measure reported by the committee or conference report filed by the chairman of
the committee or any subcommittee thereof shall be published in a searchable
format on the committee’s or subcommittee’s website not later than 48 hours
after receipt on such information.
5.It shall not be in
order to consider any bill, resolution, or conference report that contains an
earmark included in any classified portion of a report accompanying the measure
unless the bill, resolution, or conference report includes to the greatest
extent practicable, consistent with the need to protect national security
(including intelligence sources and methods), in unclassified language, a
general program description, funding level, and the name of the sponsor of that
earmark.
.