An AP story (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-06-13-congress-spending_N.htm) seems to indicate there has been a step back from the precipice regarding not explicitly including earmark in House appropriations. We’ll have to see where the dust settles in the morning.

I’m reading between the lines, but it seems like the agreement may be contingent on not having open rules for some or all of the appropriations bills – meaning only amendments that are explicitly included in the rule governing consideration of the bill would be allowed. It could also mean that Republican leadership simply agrees not quasi-filibuster a bill like they did Homeland Security Appropriations, but I think the Democrats would want more assurance than that. Of course knowing how partisan the House is it could also mean nothing!

Open rules are a hallmark of the appropriations process and enable all lawmakers a say in how Congress spends the nearly $3 trillion budget, so it would be a setback if those fall by the wayside. But the silver lining in all of this is that the Democrats said they held out the earmarks to thoroughly scrub them before including them in the bills. Now, they claim they will redouble their efforts and move the bills more slowly. So, maybe now taxpayers will be able to look at spic and span, fully transparent at hopefully fewer earmarks as the spending bills roll through.