Obama Pledges to Reform Earmarks Ahead of Signing Spending Bill Full of Them

Although President Barack Obama will sign the $410 billion spending bill that the Senate passed last night, he responded today to the criticism of the nearly 9,000 earmarks it contains, laying out a broad program for reform.

"I am signing an imperfect omnibus bill because it is necessary for the functions of government and because we have a lot more to do," he said, but it must be a "departure point for more far-reaching change."

The spending bill passed last night, already six months overdue, provides funding for nine federal departments for the rest of fiscal year 2009. It also covers contributions to programs overseas, including for global health and aid programs.

But the bill also contains a host of earmarks totaling about $7.7 billion. That led some Republicans to call for Obama to veto the bill. Obama said today, however, that he finds it "ironic" that many of the loudest critics have inserted earmarks of their own. About 40 percent of all of the bill's earmarks were requested by Republicans.

Not all earmarks are bad, the president said. "Done right, earmarks have given legislators the opportunity to direct federal money to worthy projects that benefit people in their districts, and that is why I have opposed their outright elimination," Obama said.

But to avoid waste in the future, he said, earmark proposals must be put on legislators' websites and presented at public hearings in advance to allow for public scrutiny. Earmarks for for-profit private companies should be subjected to the same competitive vetting processes as other contracts. And if the administration examines an earmark and determines it has no public purpose, the administration will work with Congress to eliminate it, he said.

The Office of Management and Budget describes earmarks as funds provided by Congress that circumvent the executive branch's ability to manage the allocation process, such as by specifying the provision's location or recipient.

Addressing concerns about earmarks was a political need as the public pays close attention to whether Obama is making good on his campaign promises. The need for political sensitivity was heightened by the fact that the bill, which represents an 8 percent funding increase over the previous year, comes on the heels of the $787 billion stimulus, leading many to call Obama a big spender.

But Obama underscored that change, including to earmarks, is coming, even if it wasn't apparent in the last-minute omnibus bill.

"This piece of legislation must mark an end to the old way of doing business and the beginning of a new era of responsibility and accountability that the American people have every right to expect and demand," Obama said.

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