Late yesterday, the week-long impasse between House Appropriations chair David Obey (D-WI) and the House GOP leadership came to an end, with Obey agreeing generally to include earmarks in FY 2008 spending bills before they come to the floor. He had earlier declared that earmarks would be added in conference committee negotiations -- when bills are no longer subject to amendment -- making the removal of individual earmarks impossible. Uncertain still are other terms of the agreement, particularly the amount of time and the degree to which these bills would be subject to amendment. The known details about the impact of the deal on specific spending bills are as follows:

• Homeland Security and Miliatry Construction-VA: No earmarks will be included in these bills until conference, but on June 18 the House is expected to adopt a rule allowing challenges to earmarks added to bills during conference negotiations.
• Energy-Water: No earmarks will be included in this bill, but the House will act separately on a package of earmarks to be added to the bill prior to conference.
• The remaining nine bills: Earmarks will be included in these bills when they reach the House floor and, therefore, subject to amendment.

How and why David Obey, with a distinguished 38-year career and reputation as a reformer in Congress, insisted so long on insulating earmarks from meaningful legislative review -- particularly in view of the reform mandate the new Democratic majority rode in on after last November's elections -- has been and will continue to be the subject of speculation in Washington.