Congressionally Directed Spending: Senate Earmarks

In April 2021, Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced the Senate Appropriations Committee would restore earmarks to the Senate and rebrand them as “Congressionally Directed Spending.” This gives lawmakers a greater ability to direct money to specific projects.  Specifically, this creates new congressional influence over the spending of $1.4 trillion in discretionary spending annually – 1% of total discretionary spending. For more information download our Senate Earmark Fact Sheet.