Earmarks, Earmarks Everywhere

Publication: Roll Call

Kate Ackley and Brandace Simmons
November 6, 2007

Earmarks, Earmarks Everywhere. Budget watchdogs who are experts at navigating spending bills for earmark boondoggles can now test their piloting skills on an actual map, thanks to a new application from Google Earth.

The program, which comes courtesy of the Sunlight Foundation, plots almost 1,500 earmarks tucked into the House Defense spending bill by where they’re set to be spent.

Each one is marked with a “thumbtack,” which when clicked reveals the project’s cost and intended recipient. Follow a link in the tab to find out the project’s sponsor.

Users can also search for earmarks by city, state, or ZIP code. Our test-drive found it impressive, though a little squirrely when earmarks were piled up in a single location — often a sign that something funny’s going on.