earmark是美国国会议员无需经过国会讨论的项目。很多议员用这些项目资金在他们自己房地产地带兴建基础设施，由此带来自己资产增值。如果是拆迁，只要拆迁户中有一户不是该议员的亲属，这个项目就不违反国会廉洁规范。所以，所有这些项目的腐败都是合法的，都是法律上不可追究的。以下是《华盛顿邮报》的报道。
Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) has earmarked more than $100 million toward rebuilding downtown Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he owns an office building. The street in front of the building will be redone with other streets as part of the project's second phase. Shelby said there is no conflict between his property and the revitalization project. "I have nothing to hide. I make no money out of it," he said.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
An overview of the newly revitalized downtown Tuscaloosa includes a four-story parking garage, top left, and a park square, top center, with decorative lamps, a fountain and pavilion clock tower. The new $67 million earmark-funded federal courthouse is pictured at top right. Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.) owns a 7,800-square-foot gray, one-story building next to the garage. Shelby's block was not razed, though it was classified by project consultants as one of the three most blighted blocks in the proposed 16-block revitalization. The hometown senator also purchased the adjacent parking lot next to his building, which is home to Shelby's Tuscaloosa Title company and his nephew's law firm.
Ben de la Cruz/The Washington Post
Ben de la Cruz/The Washington Post
Over the past decade, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) helped secure $50 million in earmarks toward a light-rail project that provides direct access to Union Square and Chinatown for neighborhoods south of Market Street in San Francisco. Pelosi's husband owns a four-story commercial building blocks from Union Square. A Pelosi spokesman said the project was requested by community leaders and the new stations on the line will be farther away from the building from those on the existing line.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
该网页报道了19例图文，不一一搬运了，有兴趣自己去看。
