Five candidates to represent Colorado in the U.S. Congress and Senate have promised not to pursue or support earmarks if they’re elected, the advocacy group Americans for Prosperity said in a press release issued today.

Earmarks are a touchy subject in Washington. Here’s the definition, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget: “Earmarks are funds provided by the Congress for projects, programs, or grants where the purported congressional direction (whether in statutory text, report language, or other communication) circumvents otherwise applicable merit-based or competitive allocation processes, or specifies the location or recipient, or otherwise curtails the ability of the executive branch to manage its statutory and constitutional responsibilities pertaining to the funds allocation process.”

Americans for Prosperity says the people who took its no-earmark pledge include U.S. Senate candidates Jane Norton, Cleve Tidwell and Ken Buck, 4th Congressional District candidate Cory Gardner and 7th Congressional District candidate Jimmy Lakey. Others could sign later.

The pledge reads as follows:

“Earmarking” is a process used by members of Congress in both political parties to redirect taxpayer funds to identified projects without going through a rigorous merit review process. The practice of earmarking has increasingly contributed to misuse, fraud and abuse in the federal budgeting process and wastes the hard-earned money of working families in Colorado.

I, ______, a member of/candidate for the U.S. Congress from Colorado do hereby pledge to my constituents that I will refuse to seek or support earmarks during the Congressional appropriations process through the end of the 112 th Session of Congress in 2012.

If people who made the pledge are elected, and if they keep their word, it would be quite a departure from the practice of some who represent Colorado in Washington. A database of earmarks maintained by the Center for Responsive Politics and Taxpayers for Common Sense shows several Colorado representatives brought home a lot of bacon for their state. In fact, Doug Lamborn, who represents a congressional district that includes the Pikes Peak region, was tops among Colorado’s delegation for earmarks last year. He sponsored or co-sponsored earmarks worth $21.7 million.

Unfortunately, the database has no information on four of Colorado representatives, including Democrats Jared Polis, Betsy Markey and Michael Bennet, and Republican Mike Coffman. Here are links to pages with details about the other representatives, followed by a graph showing their total earmarks for federal fiscal year 2009. Note Sen. Mark Udall’s entry isn’t a typo — the database indicates he had zero earmarks that year. Also, remember to keep track of what’s happening in Washington with The Gazette’s Congress page.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D
Rep. Doug Lamborn, R
Rep. John Salazar, D
Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D
Sen. Mark Udall, D