WASHINGTON — House Republicans are weighing a change to their congressional earmark guidelines that would put another major dent in House lawmakers’ ability to secure funding for social services programs in their districts, sources familiar with the discussions said.

New House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., is considering blocking nonprofits from receiving earmarks under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Economic Development Initiative grant program.

So-called EDIs, which receive grants out of HUD’s Community Development Fund, accounted for the largest single source of earmarks in fiscal 2024 at nearly $3.3 billion. The HUD projects grew in popularity with House lawmakers last year particularly after then-House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, banned Labor-HHS-Education earmarks entirely from her chamber’s bill.

No decisions have been made, though Cole has said fiscal 2025 earmark guidance would be unveiled soon.

There were $2.2 billion in House-originated EDI earmarks in the final fiscal 2024 spending package including the Transportation-HUD bill last year, CQ Roll Call found. House members secured EDI funding for nonprofits ranging from shelters for victims of domestic violence, to food banks, to Habitat for Humanity grants to build homes for those in need, among others.

In all, roughly $800 million of the EDI funding went to nonprofits, give or take, representing a hefty chunk that could get the ax this year under Cole’s leadership. The remainder went to cities, counties and other local government agencies as well as colleges and universities.

Nonprofit community projects skewed toward the Democratic side of the aisle in fiscal 2024, but numerous House Republicans were also willing participants.

The largest single House-originated EDI project was a $9 million set-aside for a homeless shelter in Bakersfield, Calif., requested by California Rep. David Valadao, the new top Republican on the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee. He’s got one of the toughest races of any GOP incumbent this year; Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates Valadao’s seat Tilt Republican.

Other sizable House GOP nonprofit HUD earmarks in the fiscal 2024 package include nearly $3.8 million for the Greater Somerset County YMCA in New Jersey, requested by Thomas H. Kean Jr., R-N.J., and almost $2.4 million for Angels of Love, a McLaren, Texas nonprofit focused on aiding women and children who are victims of domestic violence. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, requested that project.

Kean’s race is rated Tilt Republican, while De La Cruz’s is Lean Republican.

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