Primer On Obama, Earmarks, Omnibus

With the omnibus coming to a Senate vote as early as tomorrow, here are some points and figures to keep in mind:


-- The FY'09 omnibus appropriations bill contains 8,570 known earmarks totaling $7.7 billion. That amount represents less than 2% of the $410 billion legislation. (Taxpayers for Common Sense)

-- The total amount in earmarks for FY'09 is $500 million less than it was in FY'08

"When you add the $6.6 billion in disclosed earmarks that were in the three FY09 spending bills that passed in the fall (Defense, DHS, MilCon/VA) you end up with $14.3 billion worth of disclosed earmarks in FY09. The apples-to-apples comparison from 2008 yielded $14.8 billion, so there was a $500 million reduction in disclosed earmarks between FY08 and FY09." (Taxpayers for Common Sense)

-- During the campaign, Obama promised to reform the earmarks process -- "go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely" -- but he never said he'd eliminate earmarks

"Well, Senator McCain is absolutely right that the earmarks process has been abused, which is why I suspended any requests for my home state, whether it was for senior centers or what have you, until we cleaned it up… But let's go back to the original point. John, nobody is denying that $18 billion is important. And, absolutely, we need earmark reform. And when I'm president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely. (First Obama-McCain debate)

-- However, Obama did tout that his stimulus didn't contain a single earmark

"What it does not contain, however, is a single pet project, not a single earmark, and it has been stripped of the projects members of both parties found most objectionable." (Presidential news conference, 2/9/09)

-- White House: Obama doesn't "control everything that happened before he became president"

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think you saw remarks this weekend by the chief of staff and the budget director about the legislation. Obviously the President is concerned, despite the progress that has been made in this town, about the size and the scope of earmarks that we've seen over the past few years. I think even the most cynical among us would have to at least acknowledge that the number of overall earmarks has been cut.

I think it's important to recognize that a piece of legislation probably twice the size of the piece of legislation that you're asking me about was passed through Congress at the President's direction without earmarks. This is the finishing up of last year's appropriations legislation.

And I think what's most important and what the President would tell you is important here is that though he doesn't control everything that happened before he became President of the United States, that dozens and dozens and dozens of appropriations bills will go through Congress and come to his desk over the course of the next four years. (Gibbs press briefing, 3/2/09)

-- Still, Obama will -- in the future -- outline a process moving forward on earmarks

MR. GIBBS: The President you will see and hear outline a process of dealing with this problem in a different way, and that the rules of the road going forward for those many appropriations bills that will go through Congress and come to his desk will be done differently.
Q So he'll have a new standard that he's going to lay out for the appropriations bills that will come to his desk that are actually written while he's President?
MR. GIBBS: Yes, sir.
Q And when is this?
MR. GIBBS: Soon. Yes, sir. (Gibbs press briefing, 3/2/09)

originally published: msnbc.com