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Earmark Reform: How the New Rule Works

Details and Definitions

In order for the House to consider a bill, the Committee of jurisdiction must list all earmarks included in the bill and committee report along with the names of Members requesting the earmark. This new provision applies to ALL Committees.
In the case of tax bills, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) is specifically charged with compiling the list because of intricacies involved in scoring the impact of a tax provision.
In the case of a conference report, the list must include any earmarks (with Member names) that were "airdropped" into the conference report or joint statement of managers.
If an authorizing committee or the Appropriations Committee fails to include a list of earmarks, a Member can raise a point of order against consideration of the bill or conference report. The point of order is debatable for 30 minutes – 15 minutes equally divided.
If the Ways and Means Committee fails to include a JCT list of earmarks or a JCT statement indicating that there are no earmarks, a Member can raise a point of order against consideration of the bill or conference report. The point of order is not debatable.
If a rule providing for the consideration of a conference report waives the requirement for a list of new earmarks, then the point of order would lie against the Rule.
If the House rejects the question of consideration, the House is not allowed to consider the legislation or the rule providing for its consideration of the legislation until a list of earmarks is included.
An authorizing earmark is a provision that permits funds to be allocated outside of the normal formula-driven or competitive bidding process and to be targeted to a specific entity, State, or Congressional district.
An appropriations earmark is a provision that allocates funds outside of the normal formula-driven or competitive bidding process and targets those funds to a specific entity, State, or Congressional district.
A tax earmark, as determined by the Joint Committee on Taxation, is defined as any revenue-losing provision that provides a Federal tax deduction, credit, exclusion, or preference to only one beneficiary.