I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5997 

To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives and the Congressional 

Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require that public 

hearings be held on all earmark requests in the district of the Member, 

Delegate, or Resident Commissioner making the request, and to further 

increase earmark transparency and accountability. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2010 

Mr. TURNER (for himself and Mr. REICHERT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, 

and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Rules of the House of Representatives and 

the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act 

of 1974 to require that public hearings be held on all 

earmark requests in the district of the Member, Delegate, 

or Resident Commissioner making the request, and to 

further increase earmark transparency and accountability. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Anti-Pork Act of 

3 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEARINGS ON EARMARK REQUESTS. 

5 (a) CERTIFICATION BY MEMBERS, DELEGATES, AND

6 THE RESIDENT COMMISSIONER.—Clause 17 of rule XXIII 

7 of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended 

8 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(c) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 

10 who requests a congressional earmark in any bill or joint 

11 resolution (or an accompanying report) shall provide a 

12 written statement to the chair and ranking minority mem13 ber of the committee of jurisdiction certifying the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(1) A governmental entity or nonprofit, non16 congressional earmark recipient within the district 

17 of, and designated by, such Member, Delegate, or 

18 Resident Commissioner has held a public hearing on 

19 such congressional earmark at least 30 days before 

20 the date of submission of the congressional earmark 

21 request to the committee. 

22 ‘‘(2) Notice of such public hearing was printed 

23 in the appropriate local newspaper at least 15 days 

24 before the hearing and such notice included the fol25 lowing information: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The name of the applicable govern2 mental entity or nonprofit, noncongressional 

3 earmark recipient. 

4 ‘‘(B) The time, date, place, and purpose of 

5 the meeting. 

6 ‘‘(C) A summary of the agenda and topics 

7 to be discussed. 

8 ‘‘(3) If the congressional earmark request is for 

9 public improvement purposes, the local government 

10 entity having jurisdiction over the requested public 

11 improvement has passed a resolution in support of 

12 the earmark request or written an official commu13 nication binding to that governmental entity in sup14 port of the earmark request. 

15 ‘‘(4) Not more than 50 percent of the total cost 

16 of the project being funded by the congressional ear17 mark shall be appropriated funds. 

18 ‘‘(5) The congressional earmark does not fund 

19 any administrative costs. 

20 ‘‘(6) The Member, Delegate, or Resident Com21 missioner has posted the congressional earmark re22 quest on the public Web site of such Member, Dele23 gate, or Resident Commissioner providing the infor24 mation described in subparagraphs (2) and (4) of 

25 paragraph (a) and a notice of the hearing referred 


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1 to in subparagraph (1) (including the date, time, 

2 place, and entity convening the hearing).’’. 

3 (b) HEARINGS ON EARMARKS BY SUBCOMMITTEES

4 OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 Clause 4(a) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Rep6 resentatives is amended by adding at the end the following 

7 new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(6)(A) Before any subcommittee of the Committee 

9 on Appropriations may approve any bill or joint resolution 

10 (or any accompanying report) containing a congressional 

11 earmark, that subcommittee shall hold a hearing on all 

12 congressional earmarks requested to be included in that 

13 measure or any accompanying report. The chair of that 

14 subcommittee shall provide at least 14 days notice to the 

15 public on the Web site of the committee before the date 

16 of any such hearing and such notice shall include the time, 

17 place, and entity convening the hearing. As used in this 

18 subparagraph, the term ‘congressional earmark’ has the 

19 meaning given to such term in clause 9 of rule XXI. 

20 ‘‘(B) The Member, Delegate, or Resident Commis21 sioner who requests any congressional earmark referred 

22 to in subdivsion (A) shall testify in support of that ear23 mark at the applicable subcommittee hearing.’’. 

Æ 


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