II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2990 

To establish an earmark moratorium for fiscal years 2010 and 2011. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2010 

Mr. DEMINT (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. COBURN, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. 

LEMIEUX, Mr. BURR, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. RISCH, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. 

CORNYN, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. JOHANNS, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. KYL, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To establish an earmark moratorium for fiscal years 2010 

and 2011. 

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

3 SECTION 1. FISCAL YEARS 2010 AND 2011 EARMARK MORA4 TORIUM. 

5 (a) BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS.— 

6 (1) POINT OF ORDER.—It shall not be in order 

7 to— 

8 (A) consider a bill or joint resolution re9 ported by any committee that includes an earVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:18 Feb 05, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2990.IS S2990

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1 mark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff ben2 efit; or 

3 (B) a Senate bill or joint resolution not re4 ported by committee that includes an earmark, 

5 limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit. 

6 (2) RETURN TO THE CALENDAR.—If a point of 

7 order is sustained under this subsection, the bill or 

8 joint resolution shall be returned to the calendar 

9 until compliance with this subsection has been 

10 achieved. 

11 (b) CONFERENCE REPORT.— 

12 (1) POINT OF ORDER.—It shall not be in order 

13 to vote on the adoption of a report of a committee 

14 of conference if the report includes an earmark, lim15 ited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit. 

16 (2) RETURN TO THE CALENDAR.—If a point of 

17 order is sustained under this subsection, the con18 ference report shall be returned to the calendar. 

19 (c) FLOOR AMENDMENT.—It shall not be in order to 

20 consider an amendment to a bill or joint resolution if the 

21 amendment contains an earmark, limited tax benefit, or 

22 limited tariff benefit. 

23 (d) AMENDMENT BETWEEN THE HOUSES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall not be in order to 

25 consider an amendment between the Houses if that 


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1 amendment includes an earmark, limited tax benefit, 

2 or limited tariff benefit. 

3 (2) RETURN TO THE CALENDAR.—If a point of 

4 order is sustained under this subsection, the amend5 ment between the Houses shall be returned to the 

6 calendar until compliance with this subsection has 

7 been achieved. 

8 (e) WAIVER.—Any Senator may move to waive any 

9 or all points of order under this section by an affirmative 

10 vote of two-thirds of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. 

11 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this section— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘earmark’’ means a provision or 

13 report language included primarily at the request of 

14 a Senator or Member of the House of Representa15 tives providing, authorizing, or recommending a spe16 cific amount of discretionary budget authority, credit 

17 authority, or other spending authority for a contract, 

18 loan, loan guarantee, grant, loan authority, or other 

19 expenditure with or to an entity, or targeted to a 

20 specific State, locality or Congressional district, 

21 other than through a statutory or administrative for22 mula-driven or competitive award process; 

23 (2) the term ‘‘limited tax benefit’’ means any 

24 revenue provision that— 


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1 (A) provides a Federal tax deduction, cred2 it, exclusion, or preference to a particular bene3 ficiary or limited group of beneficiaries under 

4 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

5 (B) contains eligibility criteria that are not 

6 uniform in application with respect to potential 

7 beneficiaries of such provision; and 

8 (3) the term ‘‘limited tariff benefit’’ means a 

9 provision modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

10 of the United States in a manner that benefits 10 

11 or fewer entities. 

12 (g) FISCAL YEARS 2010 AND 2011.—The point of 

13 order under this section shall only apply to legislation pro14 viding or authorizing discretionary budget authority, cred15 it authority or other spending authority, providing a fed16 eral tax deduction, credit, or exclusion, or modifying the 

17 Harmonized Tariff Schedule in fiscal years 2010 and 

18 2011. 

19 (h) APPLICATION.—This rule shall not apply to any 

20 authorization of appropriations to a Federal entity if such 

21 authorization is not specifically targeted to a State, local22 ity or congressional district. 

Æ 


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