Earmarks Persist in Spending Bills for 2009

Washington Earmarks Persist in Spending Bills for 2009 By RON NIXON Published: June 27, 2008 New information shows that both the number and amount of earmarks have increased in several spending bills now making their way through Congress. The amount of the earmarks in the House version of the labor, health and human services appropriations bill for the 2009 fiscal year, for example, has jumped to $618.8 million from $277.9 million compared with the bill in 2008, according to Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan watchdog group in Washington.