Members of the "Squad" of progressive lawmakers in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., wrangled more than $220 million worth of earmarks included in spending bills since the start of fiscal year 2023, according to a watchdog group.
"These eight members, up from 6 last year, have put almost $220 million worth of earmarks into the last two years of congressional spending packages, for causes like environmental justice, diversity, and immigration assistance," read a new report from OpenTheBooks.com.
According to the watchdog group, "each member of the House of Representatives can request up to 15 earmarks," meaning 8 members could request as much as 120 earmarks per appropriations package each year.
The Squad members in the House were behind 108 earmarks during the time frame covered in the analysis, according to OpenTheBooks.com. "The first six of 12 bills that will fund the federal government this year contained 6,582 earmarks worth $13.78 billion, split almost evenly down party lines. In 2023, the 12 bills were stuffed with 7,510 earmarks worth just over $16 billion" the report says.