OMB POLICY STATEMENTS
OMB Reports Progress In Trimming Congressional Earmarks
The White House has declared progress has been made in efforts to trim earmarks, the special-interest funding provisions lawmakers insert into spending bills. Office of Management and Budget says the administration's count shows earmarks "declined by 17% in volume and 27% in dollar value" this year. Obama criticized earmarks during his presidential campaign as open to waste and abuse and has continued the criticism while in office. The Obama administration counts 9,192 earmarks totaling $11.1 billion for this fiscal year. The White House count for 2009: 11,124 earmarks worth $15.3 billion.