Appropriations Requests
Brief Legislative Overview
House appropriations are first voted on and passed by the House Appropriations Committee. When they are approved by the committee, they come to the floor of the House for a vote. When passed by the House, a House-Senate conference committee convenes to reconcile the differences between House and Senate versions of the bill. Once approved by the conference committee, the bills are again voted on by the House and Senate, and are sent to the President for his signature. Once the President signs the bill, it becomes law.

What is an "Earmark"?
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines an earmark as "namely specified funds for projects, activities, or institutions not requested by the executive, or add-ons to requested funds which Congress directs for specific activities." Thus, an earmark is simply any spending on any project that is not explicitly in the president's budget.

Every year after the State of the Union address, the president submits his budget to the Congress. Both Democrats and Republicans then review it and begin a debate about how to allocate the finite amount of resources needed to fund every operation of the federal government.

Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution gives Congress the power to direct the appropriations of money. The earmarking process is a regular part of allocating funds within the federal government. Each of the appropriations subcommittees have their own practices for determining whether and what kind of projects they are willing to earmark, and each sets rules for how earmark requests are to be received from Members of Congress.

After my colleagues and I submit earmark requests, the chairmen of the relevant committee determine whether or not to approve each funding request. Each of the appropriating and authorizing committees and subcommittees has their own practices for determining whether and what kind of projects they are willing to earmark.