IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 674 
Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to require parity and 
transparency in the earmark process. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 14, 2006 
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on Govern-
ment Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to 
require parity and transparency in the earmark process. 
Resolved, 
SECTION 1. PARITY IN THE EARMARK PROCESS. 
Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representa-
tives is amended by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘7. (a) Before any subcommittee of the Committee 
on Appropriations may report any general appropriation 
bill to the full committee, it shall—
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‘‘(1) submit a report to the House setting forth 
the total amount of funds that shall be available for 
funding recommendations and project requests from 
all Members for such bill; and 
‘‘(2) divide such total amount by the total num-
ber of Members, allocate that subdivided amount for 
funding recommendations and project requests for 
each congressional district from the Member rep-
resenting that district, and indicate that subdivided 
amount in the report. 
‘‘(b)(1) Whenever any Member requests less funding 
for his district than the amount referred to in paragraph 
(a)(2) or fails to request any such funding of any such 
subcommittee, then the suballocation made to that sub-
committee under section 302(b) of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 for the applicable fiscal year shall be 
automatically reduced by the amount of such shortfall and 
shall not be available for reallocation pursuant to section 
302(e) of such Act. 
‘‘(2) The chairman of each subcommittee of the Com-
mittee on Appropriations shall promptly notify the Com-
mittee on the Budget of the aggregate amount of the 
shortfall for the general appropriation bill within that sub-
committee’s jurisdiction that causes any automatic down-
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ward adjustment of the applicable section 302(b) sub-
allocation. 
‘‘(c) As used in this clause, the term ‘Member’ refers 
to any Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis-
sioner to, the Congress.’’. 
SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY IN THE EARMARK PROCESS. 
(a) PROHIBITION ON OBLIGATION OF FUNDS FOR 
APPROPRIATIONS EARMARKS INCLUDED ONLY IN CON-
GRESSIONAL REPORTS.—(1) No Federal agency may obli-
gate any funds made available in an appropriation Act to 
implement an earmark that is included in a congressional 
report accompanying the appropriation Act, unless the 
earmark is also included in the appropriation Act. 
(2) For purposes of this section: 
(A) The term ‘‘assistance’’ includes a grant, 
loan, loan guarantee, or contract. 
(B) The term ‘‘congressional report’’ means a 
report of the Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives or the Senate, or a joint 
explanatory statement of a committee of conference. 
(C) The term ‘‘earmark’’ means a provision 
that specifies the identity of an entity to receive as-
sistance and the amount of the assistance. 
(D) The term ‘‘entity’’ includes a State or local-
ity, but does not include any Federal agency.
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(3) This subsection shall apply to appropriation Acts 
enacted after December 31, 2005. 
(b) IDENTIFICATION OF EARMARKS.—Rule XXI of 
the Rules of the House of Representatives (as amended 
by section 1) is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new clause: 
‘‘8. For each earmark set forth in any general appro-
priation bill, the accompanying report shall disclose the 
name and district of the Member, Delegate, or Resident 
Commissioner sponsoring requesting earmark.’’. 
(c) PROHIBITING WAIVER OF GERMANENESS RE-
QUIREMENT
FOR
CONFERENCE
REPORTS.—(1) Rule 
XXII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is 
amended by adding at the end the following new clause: 
‘‘13. (a) A report by the Committee on Rules on a 
rule or order that would waive clause 10(a)(1)(A) may not 
be called up for consideration over the objection of any 
Member, except when so determined by a vote of three- 
fifths of the Members voting, a quorum being present. 
‘‘(b) A question of consideration under this clause 
shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided by a pro-
ponent of the question and an opponent. 
‘‘(c) This clause is intended to admit the question of 
consideration not only in the case of a special rule that 
explicitly waives clause 10(a)(1)(A) but also in the case