OMBW Background Brief Today, OMB Watch released a timely background brief on earmarks and the federal earmarking process -- an issue hotly debated in the print and electronic media and on the House and Senate floor over the last several weeks. The brief clarifies the definition of an earmark, demystifies the process by which earmarking occurs, and shows why an outright ban on earmarks in appropriations bills won't reduce federal spending. The skinny: Despite the attention that earmarks and earmark reform receive, not many people fully understand what earmarks are and how they work. An earmark is not necessarily "pork" — a common euphemism usually meaning additional wasteful spending — it is merely a procedural mechanism by which members of Congress can direct generally appropriated funds to specific projects. Much of the recent debate surrounding earmarks overlooks or contradicts this fact about federal earmarks and spending levels. The objective of earmark reform should not be decreasing federal spending, because it will not be successful. Instead, the piece concludes, the most effective earmark reforms would be those that make the earmarking process more transparent and make information about earmarks and their sponsors readily accessible to the public and the media.