Obama administration tries to find homes for $1.9B in 'orphaned' earmarks

USA Today: WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is freeing up $1.9 billion in so-called "orphan" earmarks, five years after a USA TODAY investigation discovered that billions in highway funds authorized by Congress were stuck in a bureaucratic no man's land.

New guidance released by the U.S. Department of Transportation Tuesday allows states to move federal funds previously assigned to politically connected projects to other priorities. Because Congress had earmarked that money for specific pet projects in previous spending bills, only Congress could free up the money — which it did in the omnibus spending bill last year.

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