HR7041-119

What This Bill Does

The Earmark Elimination Act of 2026 turns an anti-earmark rule into a statutory procedural bar for the House of Representatives. Section 2 makes it out of order for the House to consider a bill, joint resolution, amendment, conference report, or explanatory statement that includes a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit. When a point of order is sustained against a covered provision, the earmark or targeted benefit is deemed stricken. When the point of order is sustained against a conference report or motion to recede and concur, the conference report or motion is rejected and the House moves to specified follow-up motions on the remaining disagreement. If the Chair cannot decide whether a provision is covered, the full House votes without debate. Section 3 defines congressional earmarks as member-requested provisions or report language directing specific spending, credit authority, grants, loans, guarantees, contracts, or other expenditures to an entity, State, locality, or district outside formula-driven or competitive processes. It also defines limited tax benefits as revenue-losing benefits for 10 or fewer beneficiaries or transition relief for one beneficiary, and limited tariff benefits as Harmonized Tariff Schedule modifications benefiting 10 or fewer entities.

Who Benefits and How

Federal taxpayers, government reform groups, competitive grant applicants, and companies that compete through open procurement processes benefit because targeted spending, tax, and tariff advantages would be harder to attach to House legislation. House Members who oppose earmarks benefit from a point-of-order tool that can strike covered provisions or reject a conference report. The House parliamentarian and presiding officers benefit from statutory definitions that identify the targeted benefits subject to challenge.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Members of Congress, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, Senators negotiating House measures, State project sponsors, local governments, universities, nonprofits, contractors, and businesses that rely on member-directed earmarks or targeted tax and tariff provisions lose a path to project-specific federal advantages. House floor staff and parliamentarians must administer points of order, decide when the Chair can identify covered provisions, conduct votes when classification is uncertain, and process follow-up motions after conference reports or Senate-amendment motions are rejected.

Key Provisions

• Bars House consideration of measures containing congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits.
• Requires covered earmark, tax, or tariff provisions to be stricken when a point of order is sustained.
• Blocks conference reports or recede-and-concur motions when sustained points of order target covered benefits in those vehicles.
• Requires the full House to decide without debate when the Chair cannot determine whether a provision is covered.
• Adds congressional earmark definitions covering member-requested targeted spending outside formula-driven or competitive award processes.
• Adds limited tax and tariff benefit definitions tied to benefits for 10 or fewer beneficiaries or one-beneficiary transition relief.