<P> In November 2010, the GOP promised to ban earmarks . House Speaker John Boehner declared that earmarks were "the pet projects prized by lawmakers that had become synonymous with pork - barrel spending and corruption ." </P> <P> President Obama promised during his State of the Union address in January 2011 to veto any bill that contained earmarks . In February 2011, Congress "imposed a temporary ban on earmarks, money for projects that individual lawmakers slip into major Congressional budget bills to cater to local demands ." </P> <P> The 2011 ban has not been lifted . </P> <P> Finally, earmarks constituted less than 1% of the 2010 federal budget, down from about 1.1% in 2006 . </P>

What are earmarks and how do members of congress use them