Rumors circulated throughout the day today on Capitol Hill that some kind of "deal" had been struck between House Appropriations chair David Obey (D-OH) and the GOP House leadership regarding earmarks procedure, an issue that has attracted national media scrutiny this month. At a morning news conference, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) went so far as to announce that Obey had agreed to let 10 of the 12 FY 2008 spending bills come to the floor prior to conference (that is, while still amendable), with the bills' earmarks included. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) rained on that parade, saying through a spokeswoman during the GOP news conference that "the deal to proceed with the appropriations bills ... is not final." The deal appears to be hung up over how much floor time should be permitted on a couple of bills pending in the House.