II 

Calendar No. 692 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3335 

[Report No. 111–365] 

To require Congress to establish a unified and searchable database on a 

public website for congressional earmarks as called for by the President 

in his 2010 State of the Union Address to Congress. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2010 

Mr. COBURN (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, 

Mr. BENNET, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. CORKER, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mrs. 

MCCASKILL, Mr. ISAKSON, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. CHAMBLISS, 

Mr. DEMINT, Mr. HATCH, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. TESTER, Mr. ENZI, Mr. 

THUNE, Mr. CARPER, Mr. KAUFMAN, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. 

BURR, Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts, Mr. CASEY, Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr. 

JOHANNS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

DECEMBER 14, 2010 

Reported by Mr. LIEBERMAN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To require Congress to establish a unified and searchable 

database on a public website for congressional earmarks 

as called for by the President in his 2010 State of 

the Union Address to Congress. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3335 RS

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Earmark Trans5 parency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

9 ITEM.—The term ‘‘congressionally directed spending 

10 item’’ shall have the same meaning as given the 

11 term in section 521 of the Honest Leadership and 

12 Open Government Act of 2007 (Public Law 110– 

13 81). 

14 (2) REQUEST.—The term ‘‘request’’ means a 

15 formal communication, most commonly in writing, 

16 from a Member of Congress to a committee of Con17 gress or a chairman or ranking member of such a 

18 committee requesting a congressionally directed 

19 spending item. 

20 (3) REQUESTOR.—The term ‘‘requestor’’ means 

21 the Member or Members of Congress that submits 

22 a request. 

23 (4) SEARCHABLE WEBSITE.—The term 

24 ‘‘searchable website’’ means a website that allows 

25 the public to— 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3335 RS

1 (A) search and aggregate congressionally 

2 directed spending items by any element re3 quired under section 3; 

4 (B) ascertain through a single search the 

5 total number and dollar value of congressionally 

6 directed spending items requested by an indi7 vidual Member of Congress; 

8 (C) download data included in subpara9 graph (A) included in the outcome from 

10 searches; 

11 (D) programmatically search and access all 

12 data in a serialized machine readable format via 

13 a web-services application programming inter14 face; 

15 (E) access a public facing interface that 

16 can be queried across multiple fields from a sin17 gle search, or through an advanced search that 

18 allows users to query for information in specific 

19 fields; and 

20 (F) access the website address and link on 

21 the front page of the websites of the Secretary 

22 of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Rep23 resentatives. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3335 RS

1 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARK DATABASE. 

2 (a) WEBSITE.—Not later than 6 months after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Clerk of the House of 

4 Representatives, in coordination with the Secretary of the 

5 Senate, shall ensure the existence of a single searchable 

6 website, available to the public at no cost to access, that 

7 includes for each request— 

8 (1) the fiscal year in which the congressionally 

9 directed spending item would be funded; 

10 (2) the bill number on which request is made; 

11 (3) the bill section location; 

12 (4) the amount of initial request made by re13 questor; 

14 (5) the amount approved by the committee of 

15 jurisdiction; 

16 (6) the amount approved in final legislation (if 

17 approved); 

18 (7) the name of Federal department or agency 

19 through which the entity will receive the funding; 

20 (8) if the request was included in the Presi21 dent’s budget for the relevant fiscal year; 

22 (9) if the request is authorized in law and when 

23 any such authorization expires; 

24 (10) the name of the requestor or requestors; 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3335 RS

1 (11) the requestor State (for Members of the 

2 Senate) or State and District (for Members of the 

3 House of Representatives); 

4 (12) the name of any beneficiary designated to 

5 receive appropriations, including Federal agencies, 

6 municipalities, and States; 

7 (13) the type of organization (public, private 

8 non-profit, or private for-profit entity); 

9 (14) the address of each beneficiary identified 

10 in paragraph (12); 

11 (15) the project name; 

12 (16) the project description; 

13 (17) the justification, as provided by the re14 questor or requestors, explaining how congressionally 

15 directed spending item would benefit taxpayers; 

16 (18) an indication of whether congressionally 

17 directed spending item related to request is a con18 tinuing project; 

19 (19) for each congressionally directed spending 

20 item identified as a continuing project under para21 graph (18), an indication of how long it has received 

22 appropriations; 

23 (20) the estimated completion date of the 

24 project funded by the congressionally directed spend25 ing item; 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 3335 RS

1 (21) a description, if applicable, of any Federal 

2 or non-Federal sources of funding for the previous 

3 2 fiscal years, including the amount of a State or 

4 local matching requirement, for the congressionally 

5 directed spending item; 

6 (22) for any non-Federal sources of funding 

7 identified under paragraph (21), an identification of 

8 the sources and their percentage of the project’s 

9 total funding; 

10 (23) a copy of all requests and supplemental 

11 documents submitted to a committee of Congress 

12 relevant to each request; and 

13 (24) the status of the congressionally directed 

14 spending item, including if it was only requested, or 

15 then inserted into a bill passed by either House, and 

16 also noted if it was included in final conference re17 port, including any changes in final dollar amount 

18 awarded for the item. 

19 (b) SCOPE OF DATA.—The website created under 

20 subsection (a) shall contain all requests made on or after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act consistent with the provi22 sion of this Act. 

23 (c) SEARCH REQUIREMENTS.—The website created 

24 under subsection (a) shall— 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 3335 RS

1 (1) distinguish between requests that have been 

2 included in authorizing or appropriation legislation 

3 and those that were requested but not included in 

4 any legislation; 

5 (2) provide a permanent and unique identifica6 tion number for each request for a congressionally 

7 directed spending item; 

8 (3) provide that all search results return per9 manent weblinks; and 

10 (4) include information from all relevant 

11 sources including bills, conference reports, amend12 ments, manager’s amendments, and committee re13 ports. 

14 (d) AVAILABILITY.—Requests shall be made available 

15 on the website created under subsection (a) not later than 

16 5 days after submission by a requestor to a committee of 

17 Congress. For items under paragraphs (2), (3), (5), and 

18 (6) of subsection (a), information shall be added to the 

19 website as soon as it becomes available. 

20 (e) CONFERENCE REPORTS.—The database shall be 

21 updated to include congressionally directed spending items 

22 included in any conference report. 

23 (f) COMMITTEES RESPONSIBLE.—The burden to pro24 vide information in a timely manner and in compliance 

25 with this Act to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 3335 RS

1 of the House regarding requests shall be on the committee 

2 of Congress to which a request is made. 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Earmark Transparency 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) EARMARK.—The term ‘‘earmark’’ means a 

9 congressionally directed spending item, limited tax 

10 benefit, or limited tariff benefit as defined in para11 graph 5 of rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the 

12 Senate, as added by section 521 of the Honest Leader13 ship and Open Government Act of 2007 (Public Law 

14 110–81). 

15 (2) REQUEST.—The term ‘‘request’’ means any 

16 formal communication, including in writing or by 

17 electronic submission, from a Member of Congress to 

18 a committee of Congress or a chairman or ranking 

19 member of such a committee requesting an earmark. 

20 (3) REQUESTOR.—The term ‘‘requestor’’ means 

21 the Member or Members of Congress that submits a 

22 request. 

23 (4) SEARCHABLE WEBSITE.—The term ‘‘search24 able website’’ means a website that— 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 3335 RS

1 (A) has the uniform resource locator of ear2 marks.congress.gov, which shall be prominently 

3 displayed under the official websites of the Sen4 ate and the House of Representatives; and 

5 (B) allows the public to— 

6 (i) search and sort earmarks by any 

7 element required under section 3; 

8 (ii) ascertain through a single search 

9 the total number and dollar value of ear10 marks requested by an individual Member 

11 of Congress; 

12 (iii) download data included in clause 

13 (i) included in the outcome from searches; 

14 (iv) programmatically retrieve infor15 mation regarding specific earmarks; and 

16 (v) query across multiple fields in a 

17 single search, or through an advanced 

18 search for information in specific fields. 

19 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARK DATABASE. 

20 (a) WEBSITE.—Upon the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the Secretary of the Senate, the Senate Sergeant of Arms, 

22 and the Clerk of the House, in consultation with the rel23 evant congressional committees, shall begin the development 

24 of a single searchable website, available to the public at no 

25 cost to access, that includes for each request— 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 3335 RS

1 (1) the fiscal year in which the earmark would 

2 be funded; 

3 (2) the bill number on which request is made; 

4 (3) the amount of initial request made by re5 questor; 

6 (4) the amount approved by the committee to 

7 which the request was made; 

8 (5) the amount approved in final legislation (if 

9 approved); 

10 (6) the name of Federal department or agency 

11 through which the entity will receive the funding; 

12 (7) the name of the requestor or requestors; 

13 (8) the requestor State (for Members of the Sen14 ate) or State and District (for Members of the House 

15 of Representatives); 

16 (9) the name of any beneficiary designated to re17 ceive appropriations, including Federal agencies, mu18 nicipalities, and States; 

19 (10) the type of organization (public, private 

20 non-profit, or private for-profit entity); 

21 (11) the address of each beneficiary identified in 

22 paragraph (9); 

23 (12) the project name; 

24 (13) the project description; 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 3335 RS

1 (14) the justification, as provided by the re2 questor or requestors, explaining how the earmark 

3 would benefit taxpayers; 

4 (15) for any non-Federal sources of funding, the 

5 percentage of the project’s total funding; and 

6 (16) a copy of all documents provided by the re7 questor to a committee relevant to each request. 

8 (b) SCOPE OF DATA.—The website created under sub9 section (a) shall contain all requests made beginning 1 year 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act consistent with the 

11 provision of this Act. 

12 (c) SEARCH REQUIREMENTS.—The website created 

13 under subsection (a) shall— 

14 (1) provide a permanent and unique identifica15 tion number for each request and for each requestor; 

16 (2) provide that all search results return perma17 nent weblinks; and 

18 (3) include information from all relevant sources 

19 including bills, conference reports, amendments, man20 ager’s amendments, and committee reports. 

21 (d) AVAILABILITY.—Requests shall be made available 

22 on the website created under subsection (a) not later than 

23 5 days after submission by a requestor to a committee of 

24 Congress. For items under paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) of 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 3335 RS

1 subsection (a), information shall be added to the website as 

2 soon as it becomes available. 

3 (e) RESPONSIBILITY FOR PROVIDING DATA.—The bur4 den to provide information in a timely manner and in com5 pliance with this Act to the Secretary of the Senate and 

6 the Clerk of the House regarding requests shall be— 

7 (1) in the case of a requestor, the requirements 

8 under subsection (a)(1), (2), (3), (7), (8), (9), (10), 

9 (11), (12), (13), (14), (15), and (16); and 

10 (2) for all other requirements be on the chair of 

11 each committee to which a request is made. 

12 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), this Act shall be implemented not later 

15 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 

16 Act. 

17 (2) EXCEPTION.—The provisions referred to 

18 under subsection (c) may be implemented not later 

19 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

20 if the Secretary of the Senate certifies in writing to 

21 relevant congressional committees that additional 

22 time is needed. 

23 (3) OFFSET.—Any funds that remain unobli24 gated or unspent at the end of fiscal year 2010 or 

25 2011 from the Official Personnel and Office Expense 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 3335 RS

1 Account of any Senator who agrees to a transfer may 

2 be transferred from such account to the office of the 

3 Secretary of the Senate for the purpose of paying for 

4 any costs associated with the searchable website estab5 lished by this Act. Not later than 10 days after the 

6 conclusion of the fiscal year, a Member of the Senate 

7 may provide in writing notification to the Majority 

8 Leader of the Senate of the amount of funding that 

9 shall be transferred to the office of the Secretary of the 

10 Senate under this section. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 692 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3335 

[Report No. 111–365] 

A BILL 

To require Congress to establish a unified and 

Congress. dent in his 2010 State of the Union Address to gressional earmarks as called for by the Presisearchable database on a public website for conDECEMBER 14, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS