Few Republicans are publicly embracing earmarks, but Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) on Wednesday defended the practice and asked Pentagon officials to embrace some pet projects in a defense bill.

Lewis, the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said sometimes “earmarks have a role to play” and argued during a hearing on the defense budget that the administration can’t do everything it would like to within the constraints of the president’s budget.

Earmarks have roiled the House GOP conference this year, and the comments by Lewis, who has drawn scrutiny in the past for his earmarks, seem to cut against the call by GOP leaders for a moratorium on earmarks.

For much of the week, House Republicans have tried to get an edge on Democratic leaders over earmarks. On Tuesday, they announced an earmark reform website, where they posted releases touting as a triumph influential Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman’s (Calif.) call for his party to forsake earmarks.

Waxman made that announcement Tuesday. Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) and staff for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated it caught them by surprise, but offered no further comment.

Waxman’s statement said the Democratic Congress had reduced earmarks by 30 percent compared to 2005, adding, “we still have too many questionable projects being funded and the sheer volume of earmark requests imposes an impossible burden on the Appropriations Committee.”

At Wednesday’s hearing, Lewis hailed past earmarks for creating the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, which is now an integral part of the Air Force, as well as up-armored Humvees.

He also credited an earmark for funding an elementary school on the Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., that eased the burden on families who had to drive their children 35 miles to the nearest school.

“So maybe you ought to whisper in the ear of some of those people at the highest level that, from time to time, the committee actually tries to help in special ways,” Lewis said.

Past earmarks by Lewis, however, have also drawn scrutiny. Lewis has been under FBI investigation for his connection to convicted lobbyist Brent Wilkes as well as his lobbyist friend and former Rep. Bill Lowery. Investigators are looking into whether Lewis has earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars for Lowery’s clients in exchange for heavy campaign contributions from Lowery and his associates and clients.

Lewis, who has denied any link between campaign contributions and his earmarks, has spent $1 million in legal fees since 2006. Lowery, who has also denied any implication of wrongdoing, continues to contribute to Lewis’s leadership political action committee.