Earmarking in the United States

Earmarking in the Federal Budget Process

Meaning of Earmarking in the congressional and executive budget processes (GAO source): Either of the following:

(1) Dedicating collections by law for a specific purpose or program. Earmarked collections include trust fund receipts, special fund receipts, intragovernmental receipts, and offsetting collections credited to appropriation accounts. These collections may be classified as budget receipts, proprietary receipts, or reimbursements to appropriations.

(2) Designating any portion of a lump-sum amount for particular purposes by means of legislative language. Sometimes, “earmarking” is colloquially used to characterize directions included in congressional committee reports but not in the legislation itself. (See also Special Fund Accounts under Federal Fund Accounts under Account in the President’s Budget; Trust Fund Accounts under Account in the President’s Budget; Offsetting Collections under Collections; Proprietary Receipts from the Public under Offsetting Receipts under Collections; Committee Allocation.)

Resources

See Also

• Federal Appropriations
• Entries about the United States Budget Process in the Encyclopedia (including Earmarking)
• Public Debt

Further Reading

• Legislatures and the budget process: the myth of fiscal control

  (J Wehner, 2010)

• Reconcilable Differences?: Congress, the Budget Process, and the Deficit (JB Gilmour, 1990)
• Fiscal institutions and fiscal performance

  (JM Poterba, J von Hagen, 2008)