Look Ma, No Earmarks!

More good news about the massive spending bill that Congressional Democrats hope to bring to a House floor vote tomorrow:

House and Senate Democratic leaders agreed yesterday to a $463 billion spending plan for the remainder of the fiscal year that would freeze many federal agencies at 2006 levels but include more money for veterans' health, education, scientific research, HIV programs and public parks, among other things.

In an unusual move, the congressional leaders stripped the spending bill of all earmarks, or narrow, special-interest provisions. The measure had to be cobbled together now because Congress did not finish its work last year and failed to pass nine of 11 spending bills.

No earmarks. Fancy that.

By declaring a one-time moratorium on earmarks, the Democratic leaders are granting the Bush administration more leeway in spending. The Army Corps of Engineers construction budget, for instance, typically outlines funding for specific projects. But under the no-earmarks pledge, Obey and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) decided that Congress cannot spell out spending, so they opted to give a lump sum of $2.3 billion to the Army Corps -- about $38 million less than it received in 2006 -- and to allow the agency to decide which projects deserve the money.

"They really delivered on their promise to wipe out earmarks," said Richard Kogan, a federal budget expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

So we get ethics reform AND more spending on important social programs like veteran's benefits, Pell Grants, Head Start, and Section 8 housing aid -- I am really liking this new Democratically controlled Congress.

UPDATE: The bill passed, 286-140. Now it goes to the Senate, where passage will take much longer and many amendments are likely.