Q:  I've been hearing a lot of talk lately on the news about reforming earmarks in Congress.  Unfortunately, no one ever explains what exactly an earmark is.  Given the name, I would guess it is some kind of agricultural thing.  Can you shed some light on this?
     

A: An earmark is a sum of money allocated to a specific project within a piece of legislation (a bill) in Congress.  An example would be say, the $3 million directed towards City College of New York for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Servicein last year's appropriation's bill that funded federal health and human services agencies (Department of Labor, Health and Human Services Department, and the Department of Education).

Normally, federal agencies calculate their own budget needs and request funds (appropriations) from Congress in a lump sum.  Earmarks circumvent this process and provide specific funding to specific programs, giving Congress more control over ,and credit for, where funds end up. 

Earmarks are often used by both political parties to supply funding for particular programs in a Representative's district or Senator's state.  Congressmen gain favor in the areas they represent by procuring this funding.  The process of earmarking funds for one's own district is known as pork barrel legislation. 

The term "pork barrel"  comes from the post-Civil War plantation practice of distributing rations of salt pork to slaves from wooden barrels.  Applied to legislation, the term characterizes an act of handing out rations of the budget to constituents. 

The word earmark comes from the practice of marking the ears of livestock to designate ownership. Earmarks, as a means of pork barrel legislation, draws consistent criticism from congressional watchdog groups like The Sunlight Foundation, which identified 1,800 earmarks in last year's Labor Appropriations Bill (109th Labor HHS Bill).  One such earmark seems to fund a religious institution in violation of laws meant to separate church and state.  In Costa Mesa, CA, Vanguard University was awaited two earmarks: $450,000 for facilities and equipment and $250,000 for teacher training.  Vanguard University defines itself as:

a community of thoughtful Christians dedicated to honoring Christ and serving his church. As an evangelical comprehensive university within the Pentecostal tradition, VU is committed to providing an educational experience that integrates faith, learning, and living, and to preparing students for a lifetime of learning and service in a variety of vocations and ministries.

If you see a problem with Congress funding religious institutions through direct and almost untraceable earmarks added to bills, you are not alone.  The debate rages over whether to end earmarking, a practice that while abused severely, provides a method for ensuring important projects receive federal funding.  As we head towards Election 2008, you can bet debates over earmarking will continue.