Members of Congress have repeatedly earmarked tax dollars to go to organizations and companies associated with their immediate families, The Washington Post reports. Last year, Congress declared a two-year moratorium on earmarks, but before it went into effect, earmarking tax dollars to specific programs and geographic locations was a common and controversial practice.
To rein in rampant earmarking, the Senate began in 2007 to require its members to certify that neither they nor their “immediate” family benefited from their congressional actions. The House, however, only mandates that its members certify that neither they nor their spouses hold a financial stake in earmarks. House members thus have directly earmarked programs run by their children, and members of both chambers have circumvented these provisions by funding organizations and companies that their “immediate” family members are associated with while arguing that the family members do not benefit financially from the funding.
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