WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, the incoming chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, doesn't plan to make any major changes in its operations, quashing hopes of watchdog groups seeking more openness in the way tax dollars are spent.

Two groups, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Citizens Against Government Waste, have long sought greater transparency in committee practices such as holding open hearings and making appropriations bills quickly available on the Internet.

Inouye said he would not make major changes in committee operations, including the handling of earmark requests and the way approved earmarks are disclosed.

"It will be the same," he said this week.

Inouye, D-Hawai'i, said he looked at earmarks as congressional initiatives "unless you interpret the Constitution to mean that the budget is established by the president and we're a bunch of rubber stamps.

"I'm not," he said.

The appropriations committee decides how hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars are spent annually to keep the federal government operating. One part of appropriations is earmarking, usually direct federal funding of projects in lawmakers' home states that are popular with constituents.

The practice has come under greater scrutiny after high-profile corruption scandals.

Opponents also argue that earmarks are based on clout rather than merit, but supporters, including the Hawai'i delegation, maintain that earmarks are vital for getting federal money to states.

Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, said he had some hope that with Inouye becoming chairman of the full committee, he would undertake a new direction.

"But it sounds like the senator is promising more of the same rather than opening up and making the budgeting process more democratic and transparent to the public," Ellis said.

Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, said he believes changes to give the appropriations process greater openness will have to come from President-elect Barack Obama and the Senate leadership.

Obama has come out strongly for reforming the earmark process, a position at odds with Inouye's.

In March, Obama backed legislation — ultimately unsuccessful — that would have imposed a one-year moratorium on all congressional earmarks. In a statement, Obama said he has "championed greater disclosure requirements for earmarks to ensure that the public knows which member of Congress is sponsoring the spending.

"I have come to believe the system is broken," Obama said in the statement. "The entire earmarks process needs to be re-examined and reformed."

During the presidential campaign, Obama favored cutting earmark spending to less than $7.8 billion, the amount spent in 1994 on earmarks. The 2008 level was $17.2 billion.

"If he (Obama) comes in and seriously pushes that proposal, then we have a chance of making more progress in terms of earmark reform and limiting spending," Schatz said.

But Schatz said past presidents haven't had much luck in persuading Congress to change.

"All the well-intentioned presidents on this subject run into comments and views such as those held by Senator Inouye," he said.

Inouye and the other three members of the Hawai'i delegation have steered hundreds of millions of dollars in special project funding to the state over the years.

Inouye, who serves as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee in the current Congress, has often been singled out as one of the top lawmakers for securing special project funding.

Last year, for example, Inouye's earmarks for Hawai'i totaled almost $230 million. He joined with other lawmakers to secure an additional $184 million in earmarks, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense.