White House to post spending bill earmarks

On the heels of a ban of for-profit earmarks by House Democrats, the White House said Thursday it will post online all earmarks included in the fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2010 appropriations bills.

Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag said he expected the fiscal 2009 data would be posted this week, with information from this year by next month.

"We will continue to address many of the problems we faced coming into office," Orszag said. "Increasing the transparency and accountability for how taxpayer dollars get spent is an important step in preventing the abuse of earmarks."

He also praised the House for banning earmarks to for-profit companies and its pledge to post every earmark request on a single Web site. That ban was announced Wednesday.

"These steps raise the bar on accountability and transparency, and we urge the Senate to take similar steps," Orszag said.

Republicans followed Thursday with a unilateral one-year ban on earmarks.

But Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, continued to argue that the move was not necessary in the Senate, in part because of a requirement that senators certify that neither they nor their families have a financial interest in any earmarks they request.

"I understand the reasons why the House might feel it is necessary to adjust its practices in light of previous problems in that body," Inouye said. "The policies that the Appropriations Committee has adopted for the Senate safeguard the Senate's constitutional role in directing spending decisions while ensuring transparency and strict control on the practice of earmarking. In limiting earmarks to less than 1 percent of discretionary spending, we ensure that the excesses of the past will not be repeated."