Casey's first bill, the Redistribution of Unspent Earmarks Act (S 198), would mandate that any transportation earmarks enacted during or before Fiscal Year 2008 that remain unobligated to a particular project be returned to the relevant state department of transportation for use on other projects, BNA reported.

The other measure, the Use It or Lose It Act (S 199), would require that all earmarked highway money, if drawn from the Highway Trust Fund and not obligated to a project within three years, be returned to the state DOT for use as it chooses.

"This legislation will ensure that funding already directed toward highway projects is put to good use, improving our roads and bridges and creating more construction jobs," Casey said in a statement.

The House of Representatives approved legislation last Congress to rescind more than $700 million in unused transportation earmarks, but the measure never made it to a Senate vote. (see July 30 AASHTO Journal story)

The Senate last Congress approved an amendment to a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill to rescind all federal transportation earmarks that are at least 10 years old and have an unobligated balance of 90% or more. The FAA bill never made it to a conference committee with the House, however, so the provision was not enacted. (see March 19 AASHTO Journal story)

Inouye: No Earmarks This Congress

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said Tuesday he would not accept requests for earmarks during this Congress -- a move that comes after President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address last week that he would not sign any bills containing earmarks.

"The president has stated unequivocally that he will veto any legislation containing earmarks, and the House will not pass any bills that contain them," Inouye said in a statement. "Given the reality before us, it makes no sense to accept earmark requests that have no chance of being enacted into law."

House and Senate Republicans have previously agreed not to seek earmarks for the two years of the 112th Congress.

Despite the ban, Inouye said he still supports the idea of members directing funding back to their states, National Journal reported.

"I continue to support the constitutional right of members of Congress to direct investments to their states and districts under the fiscally responsible and transparent earmarking process that we have established," he said.

Inouye said he expects the Senate will reconsider earmarking next year.

"When the consequences of this decision are fully understood by the members of this body, we will most certainly revisit this issue and explore ways to improve the earmarking process," Inouye said. "At the appropriate time, I will once again urge the Senate to consider a transparent and fair earmark process that protects our rights as legislators to answer the petitions of our constituents, regardless of what the president or some federal bureaucrat thinks is right."