Senate Votes to Kill Earmark Ban
The Senate voted 39-56 today to kill a GOP-proposed ban on lawmaker-directed spending items known as earmarks, setting up a rocky path for the practice of slipping pet projects into spending bills next year.
A long-time earmark critic, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., tried to attach the ban to a food safety bill approved in the Senate. The proposal needed to clear a procedural hurdle requiring 67 votes, but fell well short.
Earmarks, which have been criticized by some groups as wasteful, became an issue for Tea Party-backed GOP candidates in the November midterm election. The incoming Republican majority in the House has voluntarily banned the spending. President Obama has also sought to limit the practice.
Seven Democrats voted with a majority of Republicans for the measure. Eight Republicans voted with a majority of Democrats against it. The roll call is available here.
Spending bills pending in the House for the 2011 fiscal year include more than 3,000 earmarks worth $3 billion, according to the budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense. It's not yet clear whether any of those will be approved during the year-end session of Congress currently underway.
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