The Facts


Simpson-A

“Congress can’t function on the great national issues of the day under the system we’ve got. The time is now to go to voluntary public funding.”

 - Alan Simpson
Former Senator from Wyoming
ACR Chair

Money in Politics & Government Waste

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  1. Earmarks, Campaign Money, and Lobbying Expenditures Doubled Since 1998

    • The number of federal government earmarks–appropriations inserted by Members of Congress not subject to regular budgetary procedures–tripled between 1998-2006 from 4,219 to 12,852
    • The amount of earmark spending nearly doubled from $28 billion in 1998 to $47 billion in 2006
    • Total contributions to federal candidates and federal lobbying expenditures increased by similar margins from $750 million and $1.5 billion in 1998 to $1.4 billion and $2.6 billion in 2006, respectively
    • Taxpayers spent an estimated $271 billion in total earmark appropriations between 1991-2008, according to Citizens Against Government Waste

  2. Top Defense Earmark Recipients Spent Heavily on Candidates and Lobbying

    • The top ten recipients of defense industry earmarks in 2008 contributed an average of $2.7 million each to candidates for federal office from 2003-2008
    • The top ten recipients spent an average of $4.9 million each to lobby federal elected officials in 2008
    • The top ten recipients received an average of $88 million in earmark spending in 2008, or $13 for every $1 spent to influence federal elected officials
    • The largest FY2008 defense industry earmark, $588 million to accelerate production of Navy submarines, was inserted against U.S. Navy requests: “In a report to Congress, the Navy said boosting the production of submarines early would disrupt its overall shipbuilding plan by shifting [funding] from other important programs.” (The Hill, 2/13/07)

  3. Congressional Appropriators Received Targeted Support from Earmark Recipients

    • Defense industry earmark recipients contributed disproportionately to Members of the House and Senate Appropriations and Armed Services Committees, the primary defense appropriators, regardless of party
    • The top five Senators providing earmarks in 2008 received an average of $259,573 in campaign contributions from defense industry earmark recipients
    • The top five Representatives providing earmarks in 2008 received an average of $699,935 from defense industry earmark recipients

    4. Sources: Center for Responsive Politics, Center for Public Integrity, Senate Office of Public Records, Citizens Against Government Waste