A story in The Hill today alleges that, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS), "senators have not claimed responsibility for at least $7.5 billion worth of projects approved by the Appropriations Committee." Per The Hill, the Committee claims that TCS "misinterpreted a host of appropriations requirements as earmarks... $6.5 billion requested by the Pentagon for the base realignment and closure program was considered 'undisclosed earmarks'." This discrepancy refects definitional difficulties where spending is requested by the executive branch may be for a program -- not an earmark -- or for a project with a single beneficiary -- a classic earmark. Ironically, legislative language surrounding executive branch-requested earmarks may make it impossible to verify whether the executive branch is accomplishing its goal of reducing earmarks by 50 percent in FY2008.