PHONEY BUSINESS:

In the Democratic Congress, Pork Still Gets Served: 'Phonemarking' Is Among Ways Around Appropriations Process (John Solomon and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, May 24, 2007, Washington Post)

When the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives passed one of its first spending bills, funding the Energy Department for the rest of 2007, it proudly boasted that the legislation contained no money earmarked for lawmakers' pet projects and stressed that any prior congressional requests for such spending "shall have no legal effect."

Within days, however, lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) began directly contacting the Energy Department. They sought to secure money for their favorite causes outside of the congressional appropriations process -- a practice that lobbyists and appropriations insiders call "phonemarking."