Earmark Elimination Act of 2026

H.R. 7041, the Earmark Elimination Act of 2026, would permanently ban federal earmarks in the House of Representatives. The bill would prohibit the consideration of any legislation containing an earmark and would establish a point of order against such provisions, meaning any member could raise an objection to block legislation containing earmarks. An earmark is congressionally directed spending that benefits a specific entity, state, locality, or congressional district outside of competitive or formula-based processes.

Proponents of the bill argue that eliminating earmarks would reduce wasteful spending and prevent the use of targeted spending as bargaining chips in legislative negotiations. The bill would require lawmakers to evaluate legislation based on its overall merits rather than on localized spending benefits to their districts. This is a standard legislation bill that would require presidential signature to become law, though it is currently in the early stage of the legislative process and has not yet received committee action.