Roll Call reports:
Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick J. Leahy may no longer be planning to set aside half of earmarked funds for Republicans, a commitment he made months ago that his Republican counterpart expected as part of the upcoming appropriations process.
“We just want to start having the bills and we’ll work it all out,” Leahy said Monday when asked if he still planned to give GOP senators half of the earmarked dollars in fiscal 2022 spending bills.
Roll Call, May 24, 2021
Analysis:
- In the context of the rest of the article, it appears this quote was in reference to the Senate Republican Earmark Ban that is still technically in place.
- Therefore, it could mean that if Republican requests for earmarks do not add up to an amount that would spend their allocation, Chairman Leahy would allocate the remainder to his Democratic Members.
- Some Senate Republican members have indicated they will be submitting earmark requests, others have committed not to, and others have not commented.
- All Senate Democrats are expected to submit requests.