Earmark (politics)

In public finance, an earmark is a provision inserted into a discretionary government spending appropriations bill that directs funds to a specific recipient while circumventing the merit-based or competitive funds allocation process. The term "earmark" is used in this sense in the United States and South Africa.

In the United States, the term earmark is used in relation with the congressional allocation process. Discretionary spending, which is set by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and their various subcommittees, usually through appropriation acts, is an optional part of fiscal policy which differs from mandatory spending for entitlement programs in the federal budget.

In 2006 the Congressional Research Service (CRS) compiled a report on the use of earmarks in thirteen Appropriation Acts from 1994 through 2005 in which they noted that there was "not a single definition of the term earmark accepted by all practitioners and observers of the appropriations process, nor [was] there a standard earmark practice across all appropriation bills." It was noted at that time, that while the CRS did not summarize earmarks that they came in two varieties: hard earmarks, or "hardmarks", found in legislation, and soft earmarks, or "softmarks", found in the text of congressional committee reports. Hard earmarks are legally binding, whereas soft earmarks are not but are customarily acted upon as if they were. The CRS did not aggregate the "varying definitions" as the result would be invalid.

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