Abandon orphan earmarks

Editorial

The newly empowered congressional Republicans promise to reform spending and end earmarks. They could quickly show their resolve by addressing a little-known Washington outrage: "orphan earmarks."

This is money that was earmarked for representatives' pet road projects but never used. These allocations cannot be erased or diverted to other projects or to deficit reduction. The government treats the appropriation as if it could still be spent.

USA Today reporters Cezary Podkul and Gregory Korte conducted a comprehensive investigation of the abuse and report, "The problem is so pervasive that almost one in three highway dollars earmarked since 1991 - about $13 billion - remains unspent." In analyzing federal and state records, the journalists discovered more than 7,374 congressionally directed highway projects in which at least some earmarked money was unspent. In 3,649 earmarks, no money was spent.

The situation not only distorts the budget but also unfairly penalizes states, because Washington subtracts any money earmarked for a road project from a state's share of federal gas-tax revenue.

Florida, which already gets less than its fair share of gas dollars, has lost out on $170 million in transportation funds in the past 20 years because of unused earmarks. It might consider itself fortunate. New York has lost out on $607 million in transportation funds; California, $567 million; Texas, $417 million; Pennsylvania, $392 million; Illinois, $350 million; and Georgia, $346 million.

There are numerous reasons the earmark dollars are not spent, but it's often a result of legislative blunders. USA Today cites the example of Rep. David McIntosh, an Indiana Republican who 13 years ago mistakenly directed money to State Road 31 in Columbus, when the road is actually called U.S. 31. Sometimes the earmark goes unused because the project is eventually scrubbed or the money is approved too late to be used.

Podkul and Korte found that President Barack Obama, as an Illinois senator in 2005, secured $1 million for a highway underpass in a Chicago suburb. Then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who later became Obama's chief of staff and now is running for mayor of Chicago, also earmarked funds for it.

But local officials already had launched the project with other funds, and U.S. Department of Transportation rules prohibit earmarks from being used once the project has been given the go-ahead.

Typical of a Congress in which budgetary sleight of hand is a fine art, efforts to remedy the matter have failed. DOT officials have asked Congress for the authority to divert the unused money to other efforts, but have been rebuffed.

A measure that would have canceled more than $700 million in orphan earmarks passed the House but died in the Senate. The two leading proponents, both Democrats, were defeated in November, but this is a cause the new GOP majority should embrace.

Some cynics say lawmakers are not really concerned about whether the earmarks achieve their stated purpose, but simply want the political benefits of being able to announce they have aided constituents. There is no subsequent press release, or grand pronouncement, when the earmark goes unused.

The public's rightful indignation about excessive federal spending has made earmarks a dirty word. It's true that many, perhaps most, earmarks have gone to worthy projects. It is also true that members of Congress sometimes have used earmarks to bypass a cumbersome federal bureaucracy.

It does not matter. The process allows tax dollars to be spent without scrutiny or a competitive process. Orphan earmarks are a result of a spending habit that encourages waste and abuse. Congress should begin its financial reforms by wiping the orphan earmarks off the books.