Once again, House Appropriations chair Rep. David Obey has moved the goalpost on earmarks. Last week, Obey announced that he would ignore reforms adopted by the House on Jan. 5 requiring that earmarks and their sponsors be identified in spending bills when they are introduced. Instead, he said he would delay the inclusion of earmarks into spending bills until they are in conference, when they can no longer be removed from the bill by amendment. Yesterday, Obey shifted his position. His new rule: Members will be able to write this committee [Appropriations] if they have any objection to an earmark the conference committee is putting in, and the sponsor of that earmark will have an opportunity to respond to any criticism. This is a feeble effort, conferring no legislative authority to debate and vote on earmarks. Nothing about this rule permits anyone to remove untoward earmarks that appropriators slip into conference reports, since conference reports are not subject to amendment. Obey's earmarks antics have earned him bad home-state press, renewed advocates' (including OMB Watch) calls for reform, and, ironically are attracting almost as much attention to earmarks again as someone named Jack Abramoff.