Ed Pagano Quoted in The Hill on the Return of Earmarks

Akin Gump public law and policy partner Ed Pagano has been quoted by The Hill in the article “Lobbyists eager for return to earmarks.” The article reports on the enthusiasm being seen over the renewed use of earmarks in the appropriations process for the first time in a decade.

Pagano, a former Chief of Staff to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), said earmarks’ return would be a boon for the lobbying industry. “It would encourage colleges and universities and public and private partnerships to have a renewed focus on the appropriations process, and that would be a benefit to the lobbying industry as we advocate for those clients,” he said.

As The Hill notes, earmarks were banned in 2011 because of concerns about corruption. Pagano, though, said he thinks they will “actually make the bills more effective and target the resources where they should go.”