• By GERARD SHIELDS
• Advocate Washington bureau
• Published: Mar 12, 2010 - Page: 1A

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WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans agreed Thursday to a one-year ban on members requesting special projects for their districts — known as earmarks — a move that could have a significant financial impact for Louisiana with its Republican-laden House delegation.

Six of the seven Louisiana House members are Republicans.

Last year, they secured 62 earmarks worth $136.6 million.

On Thursday, they backed their leadership and supported the blanket ban.

“Everybody is complaining about Washington spending being out of control and earmarks have become a symbol of this,” said U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, who received nine earmarks  worth $21.3 million this year.

“It’s a good start,” he said.

Republicans followed a call earlier in the week by Democrats, who announced they would ban the criticized practice of using annual spending bills to give earmarks to companies that are often the source of campaign contributions, a process known as “pay to play.”

The election-year maneuvering seems geared to calming an electorate seething over Washington’s runaway spending and scandals.

“For millions of Americans, the earmark process in Congress has become a symbol of a broken Washington,” House Minority Leader John Boehner, of Ohio, said.

The call was welcomed by Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, of Baton Rouge. Cassidy, a freshman who did not apply for earmarks last year pointing to House scandals that he said showed the lack of transparency in the process.

Cassidy filed a bill that would require members to prominently display their earmark requests on their Web sites. Likewise, committees would have to provide a searchable database for earmarks and post them 72 hours before they are acted on, under his bill.

“It’s a good day for us,” Cassidy said. “This can have profound changes in Washington if there is some follow through.”

That Louisiana Republicans have agreed to give up their projects doesn’t mean Louisiana money will dry up. Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter received $238 million in individual and combined earmarks for the current fiscal year.