Waste of the Day: House GOP Posts Record-Breaking Earmark List

Topline: Members of Congress have requested nearly $31 billion in earmarks for fiscal year 2025, as House Republicans once again contributed to an alarming amount of pork barrel spending.

What are those Republican earmarks for?

Key facts: Thirty-three of the 40 largest earmark requests in the House came from Republicans, including the four largest, according to OpenTheBooks’ review of Congressional disclosures.

House Republicans requested 2,087 earmarks worth $13.6 billion, while House Democrats requested 3,162 earmarks worth $9.5 billion.

Rep. Matt Gaetz’s $498 million request for a “weapons technology integration center” at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida would be the largest earmark since at least 2021, if approved. Gaetz requested $1.2 billion in earmarks, more than twice as much as any other House member.

The Senate requested $7.7 billion of earmarks, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s $218 million for the Kentucky Lock and Dam Project sitting atop the list. The next four largest Senate earmark requests came from Democrats.

The $31 billion total will likely change. None of the earmarks have been signed into law yet, and some will be removed or have their dollar cost reduced before Congress passes a final spending package for 2025.

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.

How long has this been going on?

Background: Earmarks, officially known as Community Project Funding, allow Congress members to spend seemingly limitless amounts of taxpayer funds on pet projects in their home districts.

As the late Sen. Tom Coburn explained, “Earmarks are the gateway drug to spending addiction.”

This year’s request is massive. Congress members requested $24.6 billion of earmarks last year and passed $15.7 billion of them.  They have never passed more than $19 billion in one year since the ban on earmarks was lifted in 2021.

Congress has until Dec. 20 to pass the Fiscal Year 2025 spending package and avoid a government shutdown, following an emergency extension of the previous Sept. 30 deadline.

Summary: Both parties voted in 2021 to lift a 10-year ban on earmarks. Now, it’s clear that the flood gates have been completely opened.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.