House Republicans are reinstating congressional earmarks.

In a conference meeting Wednesday, they agreed to return to the practice of letting members request spending for projects in their districts.

After high-profile abuses of the system led to a short-term ban, legislative leaders made the process more transparent, especially when House Democrats and Senators of both parties again embraced earmarks over the past several years.

Many House Republican appropriators have long wanted to restore earmarks.

“The next two years, we’ve got a Democrat Senate, we’ve got a Democrat White House,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a defense appropriations subcommittee member, said in November, according to Roll Call. “Ceding all of the authority to the executive branch, to me, is not wise for Congress to do. It’s abdicating our job controlling spending.”

Some of the most conservative Republicans oppose the earmarks practice. Those are the same members Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) needs to back his bid for speaker when the House convenes Jan. 3.

Army photo of Rep. Womack by Sgt. Caleb Minor