Rather than funnel federal money for special projects into Indianapolis via earmarks, Elrod said he would beef up the congressional seat's district office with experts on grant writing and other areas to help his constituents apply for federal grants. The difference, he said, is that grants are awarded on a competitive basis with objective criteria. Earmarks, he said, are awarded more based on a representative's clout.   "Once we do that, the harder it is to hide things and the more transparency there is in bills and what they are supposed to do," he said.   "Those are the kind of structural reforms that we need in Congress. Those aren't the type of things that get people fired up," he said. "But they do want fiscal reform."