Introduction
For the second time since Congress enacted an earmark moratorium
beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2011, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW)has found earmarks in the 12 appropriations bills funding the federal
government.
While a single earmark violates the moratorium, at least the
number and cost of the earmarks contained in H.R. 3547, the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2014, decreased from FY 2012, the last time Congress passed
the spending bills. Earmark totals dropped by 28.3 percent, from 152 in FY 2012
to 109 in FY 2014, while the cost declined by 18.2 percent, from $3.3 billion
in FY 2012 to $2.7 billion in FY 2014, the lowest amount since 1992. The costs
in both 2012 and 2014 are significant reductions from the record $29 billion in
earmarks set in FY 2006.
