There's a new naughty word in Washington: earmarks. • Earmarks are pet projects lawmakers stick in the federal budget — everything from bridges and roads to sewage treatment plants, public transportation, parks, colleges and for-profit companies like defense contractors. • You might know them as pork or bacon, and each year, lawmakers bring home thousands. In the fiscal 2010 budget there were 9,499 earmarks worth $15.9 billion.