Earmark Ban Faces Uncertain Outlook

A majority of Republicans in Congress favor banning earmarks. But supporters of a three-year ban in the Senate acknowledge they don’t have the votes to implement it when Congress takes up the issue next week, The Hill reports.

“We got a long road here,” a Senate GOP aide who supports the measure tells the news service. “We are 70 yards from the goal line, but I think momentum is on our side.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (pictured) has made the task difficult by getting Senate Republican leaders to agree to a requirement of 67 votes for the moratorium to pass. Republicans accepted the high threshold because they view it as the only way to bring the issue to a vote.