Citizens Against Government Waste Point at Pork

Each year, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) releases its annual report of government pork barrel spending and this year is no exception. This week, the organization released its 2010 "Congressional Pig Book," which comes during the group's 20th anniversary. As in past issues, the focus is on spending that is out of control. The Pig Book exposes 9,129 earmarks that combined are worth $16.5 billion.

What, exactly, is an "earmark?" The simplest and most concise definition I have seen on the subject comes from FactCheck.org, which describes earmarks as "government funds that are allocated by a legislator for a particular pet project, often without proper review." Spending bills are often full of politically unpopular items and in order to get them passed, they include nasty little pet projects that are designed to make the larger bill more palpable to individual members of Congress in both Houses and parties. According to CAGW, slightly more than 15 percent of earmarks went to Republican members, the remainder went to the Democrats. Considering that the GOP pretends to be the only party with a moral high ground on this issue, this number is still too high.

Rhetorically, things are changing in government today. According to CAGW President Tom Schatz, "Recent actions in the House to stop funding for-profit earmarks and the House Republican Caucus' decision to not request earmarks, indicates that politicians from both parties recognize that taxpayers are enraged about the broken spending process in Washington. They have noticed that it is popular to posture as an anti-earmarker. Unfortunately, the 2010 Congressional Pig Book illustrates that most members of Congress still aren't willing to eliminate the practice and why meaningful reform is necessary."

I'm sure members of both parties are going to cite progress. According to CAGW's press release, "The number of projects declined by 10.2 percent, from 10,160 in fiscal year 2009 to 9,129 in fiscal year 2010, while the total tax dollars spent to fund them decreased by 15.5 percent, from $19.6 billion to $16.5 billion." This is partially attributed to the fact that reforms have been passed that make it mandatory for members of Congress to identify earmarks they requested and those who will benefit from them. In spite of these reforms, Congress still finds itself breaking its own rules in regards to being transparent. CAGW "uncovered 91 earmarks worth $6.5 billion that were funded" outside of the required rules. This was particularly noticeable in the 2010 Defense Appropriations Act, which included 35 anonymous earmarks worth $6 billion, which made up a breath taking 59 percent of the earmarked tax dollars.

The Pig Book Summary review some of the most outrageous examples, breaks down pork per capita by state, and presents the annual "Oinker Awards." All 9,129 projects are listed in a searchable database on CAGW's website www.cagw.org. Examples of pork in the 2010 Pig Book include:

• $465,000,000 for the alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter;
• $5,000,000 for the Presidio Heritage Center in California;
• $1,000,000 for Portsmouth Music Hall in New Hampshire;
• $400,000 for the USA Swimming Foundation in New Jersey;
• $300,000 for Carnegie Hall in New York City;
• $250,000 for the Monroe County Farmer's Market in Kentucky;
• $200,000 for the Washington National Opera in the District of Columbia; and
• $206,000 for wool research in Montana, Texas, and Wyoming.

CNN notes that the CAGW also provided several awards for members, based on their spending behavior.

The "Dunder-head Mifflin Award" (from the popular TV show, "The Office") -- Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pennsylvania, and Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pennsylvania, for "$200,000 for design and construction of a small business incubator and multipurpose center in Scranton, Pennsylvania."

There is also the "Thad the Impaler Award" -- Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi, "for $490 million in pork, including $200,000 for the Washington National Opera for set design, installation and performing arts at libraries and schools, and $500,000 for the University of Southern Mississippi for cannabis eradication."

Then there is the "Hal Bent on Earmarking Award" -- Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers, R-Kentucky, "for $10 million for the National Institute for Hometown Security."

Other awards included the "Little Engine That Couldn't Award," the "Narcissist Award," the "Steak Through the Heart of Taxpayers Award," and the "Sapping the Taxpayers Award." My personal favorite is the "Jekyll and Hyde Award" -- Rep. Leonard Lance, R-New Jersey, received it for being a moving target on earmarks. "He first signed a no-earmark pledge, then received $21 million in earmarks, then supported the Republican earmark moratorium." I believe there are probably many other members that walk one thing and talk something entirely different. Review the list of other awards and find out if your member of Congress is a "winner" and how bad of a loser you are in the type of representation you have in Washington, DC.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is also host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN radio). Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Earmarks Reflect a Bigger Problem

At the height of the 2008 Presidential campaign, John McCain finally began to make traction in one important area, which was earmarks. McCain, who was never a purist in the eyes of most conservatives when it came to government spending, did have an excellent track record in this area compared to Barack Obama. Generally, most Americans were more comfortable with McCain over Obama on this issue.

Although this issue gathered some stream for a short period of 2008, in 2009 it has fallen entirely off the radar screen, thanks to multi-trillion dollar bailouts and an exploding national debt. It simply does not seem that important to most policy makers.

This is too bad, because earmarks are an excellent indicator of the moral decay in the Congress and the total disregard of elected officials when it comes to taxpayer dollars. A few months ago, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released its annual Congressional Pig Book, which went largely unnoticed by the media. In it, the book revealed over 10,000 earmarks, worth $19.6 billion from 11,610 in fiscal year 2008 to 10,160 in fiscal year 2009, the total tax dollars spent to fund them increased by 14 percent, from $17.2 billion to $19.6 billion.

Tom Schatz, the President of CAGW noted that "Everyone in Washington has promised a new era of transparency and restraint in earmarks, from President Obama to the leaders of both parties in Congress. Sadly, the hard numbers from the 2009 appropriations bills tell a different story. The current Democratic congressional majority is following the same trajectory as their Republican predecessors. They came into power promising to cut earmarks, and made a big show of it during their first two years. However, as the 2009 Pig Book amply illustrates, pork-barrel spending is growing fast." That is largely the story of pork. It is an excellent target of cowardly politicians fighting for the political life, but is no longer an issue when elected officials sit in decision making.

The new transparency rules were intended to get ridiculous bills out in the light, however CAGW uncovered over 220 earmarks worth over $7.8 billion that violated Congress's own rules. The book is only a "best of" the worst forms of government spending. There are many more not in the book that will certainly get you angry, but CAGW's examples are powerful and include:

• $3.8 million for the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy in Detroit;


• $1.9 million for the Pleasure Beach water taxi service in Connecticut;


• $1.8 million for swine odor and manure management research in Ames, Iowa;


• $380,000 for a recreation and fairgrounds area in Kotzebue, Alaska;


• $143,000 for the Greater New Haven Labor History Association in Connecticut;


• $95,000 for the Canton Symphony Orchestra Association in Ohio; and$71,000 for Dance Theater Etcetera in Brooklyn for its Tolerance through Arts initiative.

A million here and a million there, and the next thing you know you are discussing real dollars.
The typical reaction to these type of bills is balance budget amendments and line item vetoes. These reforms are mere band aids that do not address the larger question of the areas that the government are allowed to spend. That would require a closer examination of the US Constitution and an adherence to Article I, Section 7 of that document. Doing such would not only cut into the billions of irresponsible pork, but attack the trillions in spending that threatens the future of our country. Now that would be change I would appreciate.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Oink, Oink from the Federal Government

The government is at it again. They are feeding the pork at the expense of taxpayers. Each year Citizens Against Government Waste releases its annual report of wasteful government programs designed to assure the reelection of politicians. "Earmark" spending is used by Members of Congress to bring home projects to Congressional districts and states that politicians can point to in order to help get reelected. What did they find in 2008?

Citizens Against Government Waste has dug up $17.2 billion in pork and that waste covers a plethora of areas. Here are a few examples:

In Agriculture: "$15,115,446 for 17 projects by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), including: $3,723,750for a Natural Products Lab; $2,780,400 for the Jamie Whitten Delta States Research Center; $1,075,419 for the Agricultural Wildlife Conservation Center; $849,015 for genomics for southern crop stress and disease research; $511,395 for biotechnology research;and $229,383 for rural systems research."

In Commerce: "$146,708,000 for 63 projects by CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), including: $5,640,000for the Marshall Space Flight Center; $470,000 for a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)Maritime Museum in Mobile; $329,000 for American Village Citizenship Trust Montevallo for character programs in at-risk areas (the group’s website boasts that its mission is to “...to strengthen and renew the foundations of American liberty and self-government through citizenship education.”In addition to these lofty goals, young lovers can rent out the chapel and the barn to get married for $2,650.); $235,000 for the Foley Police Department for communications upgrades; and$235,000 for West Alabama Marine Shrimp and Fish Aquaculture to develop new methods and find efficiency in the development of marine shrimp and fish aquaculture using ponds and the salinic water of West Alabama."

In Defense: "$173,200,000 for 25 projects by Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), including:$25,000,000 for the Hawaii Federal Health Care Network;$23,000,000 for the Maui Space Surveillance System operations &research; $10,000,000 for the National Defense Center of Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences; $5,000,000 for the Maui High Performance Computing Center; $3,500,000 for Army conservation and ecosystem management; $3,000,000 for the Hawaii National Guard Counter-Drug Program; and $2,000,000 for Brown Tree Snakes."

The list goes on and includes energy, finances, and other guilty culprits. I recommend reading the summary here. The criticism crosses party lines and guilty parties among the GOP and Democrats are quick to throw hand grenades. But I have been familiar with the group for 25 years, back when it was called the Grace Commission, which was appointed by Ronald Reagan and led by J. Peter Grace. I, for one, have long been grateful to the contributions they make.

How did the Presidential candidates fair in the Report? Well, Senator Hillary Clinton secured 281 projects totaling $296 million, and Obama won 53 projects totaling $97 million, according to the group. How about John McCain? Zero. He doesn't believe such an approach to government spending is ethical and votes against earmarks at every opportunity and will not offer them (and hasn't offered them in years).

How did your elected officials spend?

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Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.