"update of the August 10 R&D Earmarks analysis..."

Congress Piles on R&D Earmarks in 2006 Appropriations
(This analysis is an update of the August 10 R&D Earmarks analysis. Please see the August 10 analysis for full information. This update covers developments since August.)
- As the FY 2006 appropriations process drags on well into the new fiscal year, Senate appropriators are on a record-setting pace for R&D earmarks with $1.5 billion so far (see Table A and Figure 1). House R&D earmarks are lagging behind Senate levels because of tighter budget targets, but final FY 2006 appropriations could end up adding House and Senate earmarks together instead of splitting differences.
- Since August, the Senate has drafted a Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations bill containing $520 million in R&D earmarks, bringing the total to $1.5 billion among all agencies. Like the House, the Senate’s earmarks are concentrated: four agencies (DOD, $520 million; USDA, $334 million; DOE, $318 million; and Commerce, $198 million) receive 91 percent of Senate R&D earmarks, while NIH,NSF, DHS, and other agencies are earmark-free.
- FY 2006 R&D earmarks are likely to exceed the $1.9 billion total in 2004 or the $2.1 billion total in FY 2005 if House and Senate earmarks are combined in final budgets. In finalizing the USDA budget,congressional negotiators allocated $334 million for R&D earmarks, more than earlier House ($183 million) and Senate ($292 million) bills had provided.