ANALYSIS – THE APPROPS DESK, IN ITS OWN WORDS
Original pieces from the Approps desk. Where the bills stand, what the deadlines mean, and who gets what. Every claim traces to a primary source or to the verified data on this site.
Aug 17, 2026
Earmarks were once the most mocked spending in America. After the scandals, the ban, and a decade of backdoor earmarking, they came back in 2021 with public requests, financial-interest certifications, a 1% cap, and GAO audits. The case that the budget's most ridiculed line items are now its most watched.
Aug 3, 2026
The Senate passed the bipartisan continuing resolution 90-6, funding the government through December 11. What is in the bill, why it is on a glide path to a signature, and the stacked-up December cliff the vote just scheduled.
Touches: Defense · Agriculture-FDA · Homeland Security · CJS · T-HUD · Energy-Water · FSGG
Jul 9, 2026
The House has moved all twelve bills and passed two. The Senate has not held a markup. With the September 30 deadline under three months out, the cycle ends one of three ways.
Touches: Defense · Agriculture-FDA · MilCon-VA
Jul 9, 2026
Congress calls them Community Project Funding and Congressionally Directed Spending. They are earmarks, more than 8,300 of them in FY2026, and every one is searchable here.
Touches: Agriculture-FDA · MilCon-VA
Evergreen · The standing explainer
The power of the purse, the twelve bills, 302(a) and 302(b) allocations, markups, conference, and what happens when Congress runs late. Start here if the tracker is new to you.
EXPLAINERS
Evergreen pieces on how the process works.
