pork barrel

No member brought home more money than former Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, who retired this year as one of the last big pork barrel legends.

Yet in Brazilian politics, centrist lawmakers, tempted by pork barrel and backroom deals, almost always side with the winner.

Victors may draw lawmakers who did not back them during the campaign to fall in line with pork barrel spending and backroom deals.

The once-popular practice of member-directed funding requests — often called “pork barrel” spending, because lawmakers would divert funds to pet projects in their states — was banished from Congress a decade ago.

Known as “pork barrel” legislation, it was often reformed over the years and banned for more than a decade before lawmakers agreed to revive the practice with strict guardrails last year.