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FACT BRIEF

Did Republicans ask for $7.4 billion in earmarks and Democrats $2.8 billion in the 2024 budget?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

Roll Call, a news service that covers congressional legislation, reported in July 2023 that Republican House of Representatives members put $7.4 billion and Democratic House members $2.8 billion in earmarks in fiscal 2024 spending bills.

Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley criticized the GOP earmarks during the Aug. 23, 2023, Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee.

Republicans hold the majority in the House, giving them control over appropriations bills.

An earmark is any congressionally directed spending or tax benefit that benefits an entity or a specific state, locality or congressional district.

The Roll Call report found Democrats requested 65% of the 4,714 earmarks included in spending bills, but that those earmarks made up less than 38% of the total dollars.

Republican Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee secured the largest amount of fiscal 2024 earmarks, $273.3 million, mostly for an Army Corps of Engineers’ Chickamauga Lock project in Chattanooga, Roll Call reported.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Roll Call Republicans hoover up earmarks in House spending bills
Fox News No one is telling Americans the truth: Nikki Haley
Bipartisan Policy Center The Power of the Purse: The 411 on Earmarks
Congressional Research Service Lifting the Earmark Moratorium: Frequently Asked Questions
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.