A coalition of conservative activists is urging Congress to reinstate a ban on one of the “swampiest” practices used by lawmakers in the nation’s capital.
Led by the organization Advancing American Freedom, 24 conservative advocates sent a letter to every member of Congress on Wednesday asking them to reinstate a ban on earmarks as they consider government funding for the next fiscal year. Earmarks are provisions inserted into appropriations bills by lawmakers to allocate taxpayer dollars to a particular project or entity they want to fund.
“As the United States Congress proceeds with Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations, many of your colleagues will once again seek to direct taxpayer dollars to their favorite pet projects through earmarks, one of the swampiest features of policymaking in Washington, D.C.,” wrote Advancing American Freedom President Tim Chapman in a letter obtained by The Daily Wire.
The letter says that earmarked funds from fiscal year 2024 went toward leftist projects, including “abortion centers, transgender indoctrination, radical climate activism, and entities engaged in crass antisemitism.”
An appropriations bill is currently making its way through the House with a September 30 deadline before the previous funding bill expires. The current House bill is a seven-week continuing resolution, meaning that spending would continue at previous approved levels.
Chapman and the other signatories want Congress to reinstate a ban on earmarks that Congress agreed to in 2011 that lasted until around 2021.
“Historically, conservatives recognized the problem with using earmarks to lure legislators into supporting reckless budget agreements,” the letter said. “For good reason, the House Republican Conference prohibited earmarks for more than a decade. In fact, earmarks were so broadly unpopular that President Obama committed to vetoing any bill containing earmarks, and former Speaker Pelosi refrained from reinstating the practice for the first two years of her tenure.”
Other signatories of the letter included Eagle Forum President Kristen Ullman, Open the Books CEO John Hart, Students for Life Action Government Affairs Coordinator Savanna Deretich, and former Virginia Representative Bob Good.
“In the 2024 elections, voters delivered a clear mandate to Republicans to overturn a broken status quo, granting them a federal trifecta,” they wrote.
Earmarks in the past have sent millions of dollars towards projects such as the American LGBTQ+ Museum, the “National Great Blacks in Wax” museum, and the Universal Hip Hop Museum.