Earmark Reform Will Help Eliminate Wasteful Spending. Earmarks are provisions included in legislation that are often not subject to legislative or public scrutiny and that often lead to wasteful Federal spending. Earmarks have tripled in number over the last decade and have increased spending by billions of dollars. The President applauds Congress' progress in requiring the disclosure of the sponsors, costs, recipients, and justification for each earmark, and calls on Congress to go further by enacting comprehensive earmark reform that brings greater transparency and accountability to the Congressional budget process, including:

• Stopping the practice of concealing earmarks in so-called report language instead of placing them in the actual language of the bill.
• Cutting the number and cost of all earmarks at least in half by the end of this session.