Pork Blog
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find an example of pork spending by Congress. You need to provide a brief description of who and where (member of Congress and state), what (the project) , and how much (your tax dollars).
If you can link us to the site great. Otherwise just copy the website address in your response. If the info comes from a periodical, then cite it for us.
Check the calendar for due date and happy hunting for "pork".
Mr. Thompson
posted by erdecker @ 1:51 PM
41 comments
41 Comments:
"Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich. requested $2 million for a Navy study exploring the use of “no flush” urinals", This was part of a Department of Defense Bill. Yep, you heard it, defense..."What taxpayers can learn from the study is that it doesn’t take water to flush their hard-earned money down the toilet."
Citizens Against Government Waste
http://www.cagw.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9374
Don Young is the sole member of the United States House of Representatives from Alaska, also a Republican.
The article is about the $286.4 billion highway bill, but I would like to point out a few "highway projects" they're spending our hard earned tax money on...
-Horse riding facilities in Virginia ($600,000)
-Snowmobile trail in Vermont ($5.9 million)
The Republican Pork Barrel
Also, for those trying to find some articles here's a website...
Citizens Against Government Waste
Louisiana's congressional delegation is looking for $250 billion to help fund reconstruction. The problem is, the bill proposed includes items that have nothing to do with Louisiana's hurricane relief. Some of these include $120 million for laboratory facilities and equipment at a research center, $8 million for alligator farmers, and $35 million for Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20051017-092323-1645r.htm
You would think they'd want the money to go directly to those who suffered from the tragedy. Apparently not.
- Tina face.
In 2000, $375,000,000 was given to build an unrequested and unneeded amphibious assault ship in Mississippi, which just happened to be the state of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.
CRS Report for Congress
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL32513.pdf
Citizens Against Government Waste
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_Pork_Barrel_Spending
$280,000 was spent on asparagus technology and production in washington. Production was done in state of senate appropriator Patty Murray (D wash.) and agriculture appropriations subcommittee memeber George wethercast (R wash.).
According to USDA officials, "the asparagus industry in Washington and other states is suffering a severe economic loss," and "this research will enable Washington asparagus producers to remain domestically and internationally competitive."
just how much technology does asparagues need???
Citizens Against Government Waste
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2003
mallory you totally stole mine. i was going to post it 6th hour but there wasn't a topic up!!! grr. i'll go find another, i guess. loser.
so we have Thad Cochran, who is a Republican from Mississippi. He decided that he needed $500,000 dollars for catfish health. yes my friends, catfish. it's insane how much money they get for such weird and kind of trivial things.
oh man, don't even get me started on that golf one...how incredibly lame.
oh yeah whoops, same site as mal's obviously...
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2003
• $45 million for the so-called SWATH oceanographic ship in Hawaii, home of Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye.
CAGW this year graced Inouye with its "Hall of Shame Award" for the $765,073,000 in projects he's steered to Hawaii since 1991.
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/pork/
So mush money to spend but Oo so little time!
Do these people really think these projects are worthwhile? I mean come on!! how many kids have to live without heat or food a day, just for these people to spend massive amounts of tax payers dollers to paint salmon on jets and build ships?
-Leila H.
My article is both creative and true. Many of you have heard about Bush promising to legalize illegal immigrants, a move Conservatives (Including myself) don't like. How does this relate? Welfare and other government-funded aid will be greatly increased. This move was to gain Hispanic votes, just like all these Senators and Reps plans to gain votes. Mr. Thompson- If this isn't acceptable please tell me. I think it sweet though...you know "thinking outside the box". You know, "spicing it up a bit". You know, "Bam! Kick it up another notch!" -compliments of Emeril (Don't worry I asked him and he said I could use that catchprase, I didn't break any copyright infringments). I've babbled for about 10 lines now. Horrah, Huzzah
Proof of Bush's plan-
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041110-123424-5467r.htm
Examples of new, increased costs-
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43275
In 2000, the army corps launched a $750 million lock navigation project on the Industrial Canal in New Orleans, the most expensive single lock project in history, even though barge traffic had decreased by 50% in the last 16 years. The New Orleans congressional delegation, led by Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) and then-Reps. David Vitter (R-LA) and Billy Tauzin (R-LA), were strongly behind the project despite the economic and social concerns. The 2006 budget, the President provided no funding for the Industrial Canal. But the House put $9 million into it, and the Senate pumped in $15 million. The Senate cut several programs including the West Bank and Vicinity hurricane protection project for New Orleans. Funny how no budget went to $26 million…
The Progress Report:
http://www.progress.org/2005/tcs189.htm
Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye, Senators from Hawaii
The following have no budget request, but do have a Senate request.
-$33,900,000: Maui Space Surveillance System operations and research
-$10,000,000: PanSTARRS(Air Force)
-$22,575,000: Pacific range missile facility upgrades
-$6,900,000: Pacific Air Force server consolidation/storage area network
That's a sampling of Hawaiian defense spending trying to get through to the budget!
Alo-ha!
-Adam Kephart
oops, here's the source
Citzens Against Government Waste
http://www.cagw.org/site/FrameSet?style=User&url=http://publications.cagw.org/pigbook/pigbook.php3
-Adam Kephart
Okay, just wanted to begin by pointing out that you all are freaks. I get on as soon as I get home and 16 people have already posted. Thus my example of pork barrel spending is less impressive, oh well. House appropriator Norm Dicks, a Democrat from Washington, wants 700,000 dollars for the Admiral Theater in Bremerton, Washington, which is in his district. While it may not sound like much compared to the 941 million the tinry Gravina Island in Alaska feels it needs for its bridge, when you consider that the theater in Bremerton has already been improved with 4.2 million dollars of privately raised money, the extra taxpayers' dollars seems a little excessive.
-Citizens against Government Waste
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_Pork_Barrel_Spending
-Caty Schmitter
$200,000 to pay for an arena for Alabama's National Peanut Festival, and that was $2,500 more than Rep. Terry Everett (R) had requested.
Exciting activities that take place during the nine day festival includes livestock competitions, fair rides, country music and a pageant to crown Miss National Peanut.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/02/24/peanut.arena.ap/
Sibley
I was so worried someone would've stolen mine, but joy, noone did!:)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) got $50 million to build a TROPICAL RAINFOREST IN Coralville, IOWA. And of course they'll put a huge dome over this asset and future tourist attraction.
Article courtesy of Dave Barry!
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/173141p-150770c.html
Conrad Burns (R-Mont.)used $47,616,000 for projects inside his state. Including : $5,000,000 - Roads to access fishing at Fort Peck Reservoir
$3,700,000 - Claggett Hill Road/Lewis and Clark ferryboat
$3,000,000 - Billings Airport
$1,250,000 - Helena Regional Airport
$191,000 - pedestrian and bicycle trails in Whitefish
Citizens Against Government Waste
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2005#energy
Pork Barrel spending in homeland security? o yes my friends according to Senator John McCain pork barrel spending was used to provide $295 million for Maritime and Land Security which is $210 million above the President’s FY2004 request. The article goes into more depth about where more pork barrel spending is being used for homeland sercurity.
Meaghan
http://mccain.senate.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=Newscenter.ViewPressRelease&Content_id=1150
Yay! I loved reading through all 22 of the articles that were posted before mine!(sarcasm)
Rep. Elton Gallegly from Simi Valley, CA has requested $2.3 million for landscaping on the Ronald Reagan Highway.
"It's not about planting flowers," Councilman Steve Sojka said. "It's about image. ... It just adds value to your city."
Uh...alright Steve, but I don't want to have to pay for it.
Oh, and John McCain opposes the bill, so if you like him, you won't like this bill.
Here's the link:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1461685/posts
OMG OMG I'm going to Harry Potter now...RIGHT NOW...I might pass out.
Senator Robert Byrd (Senate Appropriations Committee ranking minority member) of West Virginia is hot...hence the $6 million for the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture in West Virgina.
Stay Cool Homies.
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/pork/percapita/
This may not be a lot of money in the big picture, but its a lot to me and a lot for what it is for.
Congress gave $18,000 to New Jersey (D-Jon Corzine senator) to and build a non-smoking booth at the Teterboro airport, which is the nation's largest private airport. (rich people) hm...
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/GiveMeABreak/story?id=1112408&page=1
Another interesting expense, $50,000 was given to Minnesota for wild rice research. How the heck do spend that much on wild rice??
http://www.cagw.org/site/FrameSet?style=User&url=http://publications.cagw.org/pigbook/pigbook.php3?pigyear=5
Yes, what a blast reading everyone's bits. So, as thirteen other people have noticed, the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) reports that the House gave $10 million to the International Fund for Ireland (IFI), to be spent on items that would increase the job potential and create equal opportunity. These funds, totaling over $439 million since 1986, have gone towards projects such as the reproduction of the "Jeanie Johnston" (ship that carried famine victims), exporting sweaters, and a national water sports center.
It is decidedly interesting to find out where all our hard-earned money is going...
Alyssa
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2005#energy
Green Eggs and Pork?
Congress spent $950,000 for a Dr. Seuss sculpture garden in Springfield, MA. Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman Richard Neal, both of Massachusetts, incorporated the funding into the Department of Housing and Urban Development appropriations bills of 2000 and 2001.
-Dalena
Sources:
http://kennedy.senate.gov/~kennedy/statements/99/10/1999A15831.html
http://www.cagw.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr012=48je9ol173.app24a&page=NewsArticle&id=5807
Well I had to read through 31 of these things to make sure this isn't a repeat, so I hope it isn't (I guess everyone forgot this is DUE IN TWO WEEKS YOU OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE NERDS):
Senator Robert Bennet got $500,000 for the Olympic Tree Program for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Citizens Against Government Waste
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_Pork_Barrel_Spending
there are 32, yes 32 crazy psyco kids in this class it is sunday the 20 and this assignment isnt due for a long time! you all are loony people with too much time on your hands... read a book, clean up a park, raise money for underpriveledged orphans or something! i just loved reading 32 blog entries to make sure i wasnt repeating anybody!
well here goes:
Who: Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.)
When: july 2005
What: introduced an amendment to add $9 million more dollars to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program,
Where: Oregon
intresting fact: Named porker of the month by the CAGW
source: http://www.cagw.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9056
love, becky
ps. im not really mad at all of you non-procrastinators, im just jealous and tired!
Dominick, Cheers
Well, Rep. John Murtha from the state of Pennsylvania, as chairman of the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee, helped produce a $240 billion spending bill that included $113 million for projects in his hometown of Johnstown.
Source - NewsBusters: Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias
http://newsbusters.org/node/2887
Hugs and Kisses,
Mark
OOO...Shawna...a thought on that wild rice...I found a scholarship that gives out tons of money for essays on why wild rice in the agriculture in Minnesota is good. So on one hand, maybe the money goes to us(if "us" includes the crazy kids that are going to research wild rice and write an essay on it), on the other, they got money to bribe high school kids to do the research for them???
(Yes, i know i already posted, but i guess my rainforest in iowa was mentioned in class-which i wasn't there for...so yah:)
Interesting: Minnesota doesn't really have a problem with Pork-the watchdog group Citizens Against Gov't Waste has never singled out a MN project. However, some of the $160 million bill's projects classified as "pork" include the Hiawatha lightrail from the Mall of America to Minneapolis ($75 million)(yes! shopping!) and $25 million for improving Fort Snelling's cemetary. Hopefully MN will keep this "non-pork" trend alive in the future! Oh yah, and it figures into about $32.00 per person. Martin Sabo (D-MN) 'got' most of the money for these projects since he's on the Appropriations Committee.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/01/20_mccalluml_pork/
Another example from Ted Stevens of Alaska-
Seward’s icebox has become a pork playground built by taxpayer dollars. Senate appropriator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) snatched $76 million from the lower 48 (and Hawaii), including 44 Corps of Engineers projects totaling $67 million. Pork projects include: $13 million for Nome Harbor improvements; $1.6 million for Unalaska Harbor; and $1.5 million for Alaska wind energy research. At a June 27, 2005 hearing, Sen. Stevens stated that there are senators “who really do not know the history of the development of this relationship between Alaska and the Federal Government with regard to the resources of our State.” With each spending bill, the relationship becomes clearer and clearer.
considering my search didn't turn up any of the same sources, I'm going to assume this is unique (why read 36 when you can ctrl-f).
Source
http://www.cagw.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9046&news_iv_ctrl=1022
Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), got $5,000,000 for fishing access roads at Fort Peck Reservoir.
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2005#ag
i hope this isn't a repeat because i just skimmed most of those
Jessica S. said. . .
A couple years ago, a bill was passed, by the senate, as an emergency spending bill that they thought would help to defend america against acts of terrorism. But the spending went above and beyond defense and security in its spending. Some of the other items that were spent on in the bill were:
1. $2 million spent to aid the smithonian Institution in the storage of its many jars of biological specimens.
2. $5 million spent on aiding farmers markets/produce stands.
There were others too.Isn't that just ridiculous?! Anyways I hope these examples don't all have to be from 2005, because this one is from 2002. Here is the site:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/06/02/securitybill-usat.htm
Last year these CRAZY things were proposed...
A tattoo removal program in San Luis Obispo County, California ($50,000);
The Fort Union Trading Post Bike Trail in North Dakota ($500,000);
The Center on Obesity at West Virginia University ($2 million); and
An effort to combat "goth culture" in Blue Springs, Missouri ($270,000)
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/BG1527.cfm
-katie b!
Republican Senate appropriator, Richard Shelby, got $4,140,000 for the Poultry Science Facility at Auburn Universtiy in Alabama, which just happens to be his home state. Talk about a meat-lover!
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/pork/
Well I'm glad I'm not the LAST person to blog on this.. just kidding. Here Goes:
Recently Mitch McConnell, (R- Ky) Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member, recieved $3,000,000 for the Forage Animal Research Laboratory in Lexington, and $2,300,000 for animal waste management in Bowling Green.
Hmm.. thats a lot of money to spend on animal feces...?
Breann to the Bender
http://www.atgpress.com/atgpress/gov/gov065.htm
Wow... I'm so glad I procrastinated. I'm fairly sure this is not a repeat.
Here's an interesting item on the list for Minnesota: 25,000 dollars has been proposed in the house to research cereal disease.
http://www.cagw.org (search for Minnesota)
I was not aware that cereal was so prone to illness, or that it is urgent enough to merit a large sum of money. I seriously hope there is at least a coherent motive behind some of these proposals. It seems like some joker is inserting random proposals in order to amuse themselves. Asparagus???? Nice, Mal.
I will feel so good about myself if I am last. Come on! I still have three days to go!
--Kirin
Many have mentioned Ted Stevens but i didn't see this example in my skimming the past 60 entries.
"Some of the latest "Pig-book" installments include:
-$62.4 million for commerce projects in Alaska, home of Senate Appropriations Committee ranking member Republican Ted Stevens, including $750,000 to prevent Atlantic salmon from escaping state streams and $4 million for sea lion recovery projects."
I'm all for Animal recovery if it's necessary but since when is it important to ensure Animals stay within political boundaries(state lines)?
There are a few interesting ones in this list! Many of you found quite interesting ones as well.
Fox News April 9, 2002.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,49837,00.html
Am I last? I hope I am. I was going to save this for 11:59 on December 2, but then I decided not to.
I skimmed through it...I hope no one did this one yet:
$150,000 to fund a therapeutic horseback riding program at the Lady B Ranch in California. Does anyone even know what the crap therapeutic horeback riding is? What a waste of money.
Here's my source: http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/p/purcell/2004/purcell120304.htm
In the 2000 fiscal year, the senate decided to give 700,000 dollars to Admiral Theater in Bremerton, Washington. This was after the theater had a donation of 4.2 million dollars to give upgrades to the theater. Interesting use of government money I must say.
Source:
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_Pork_Barrel_Spending
Reeping Kyle
Wow...it was sure fun reading through 50 of the blogs. I guess that's what i get for waiting until the last minute.
"Despite a series of independent investigations criticizing Army Corps construction projects as wasteful pork-barrel spending, Louisiana's representatives have kept bringing home the bacon.For example, after a $194 million deepening project for the Port of Iberia flunked a Corps cost-benefit analysis, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) tucked language into an emergency Iraq spending bill ordering the agency to redo its calculations. The Corps also spends tens of millions of dollars a year dredging little-used waterways such as the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, the Atchafalaya River and the Red River -- now known as the J. Bennett Johnston Waterway, in honor of the project's congressional godfather -- for barge traffic that is less than forecast.
The Industrial Canal lock is one of the agency's most controversial projects, sued by residents of a New Orleans low-income black neighborhood and cited by an alliance of environmentalists and taxpayer advocates as the fifth-worst current Corps boondoggle. In 1998, the Corps justified its plan to build a new lock -- rather than fix the old lock for a tiny fraction of the cost -- by predicting huge increases in use by barges traveling between the Port of New Orleans and the Mississippi River."
Source:
Money Flowed to Questionable Projects: State Leads in Army Corps Spending, but Millions Had Nothing to Do With Floods
By Michael Grunwald
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 8, 2005; Page A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/07/AR2005090702462.html?referrer=email&sub=AR
Cassandra Schiefert
One person's pork is another's animal protien.
While so many of these seem like ridiculous expenses when more pressing issues, like tax cuts, must be enacted for future fiscal security, they also can have compelling arguments. Can I offer a different perspective?
In Santa Fe, NM, I was a volunteer for Equestars, an organization which used DEA confiscated drug-running horses to help severely handicapped people gain coordination, muscle tone, balance, and skills building caring relationships with the animals. Their riding time was often the highlight of their week. More info on this program is available at http://www.equestars.org/ or nationally at http://narha.org/
The program had 40 volunteers, 1 full-time director, some land, and horses, while serving over 100 people. Most of the disabled clients lived in group homes as wards of the state with no monies available for this level of physical therapy or outdoors activity. While most of the equipment and time was donated, and charity fairs were held, the organization still received operating expenses from the local, county, state, and federal government. And none of the beneficiaries thought it was crap or ridiculous, although they may not be able to articulate a persuasive response. The argument can be made that this is not the best choice for using our public money, but we must recognize that part of what politicians do is advocate for others, sometimes even those who can not advocate for themselves. Just as reasonable people can disagree, it's egregious not to understand how reasonable people could support and fund "pork."
Hopefully you see there sometimes are compelling arguments. . .
It's all moot anyhow, though, as in 20 years there won't be any more discretionary spending anyway.
So I was afraid there’d be nothing left to post about, since I’m pretty sure I’m the last one to post. I should get a prize for not being OCD. But anyway, homeland security is a touchy subject, but in Wyoming, which has 17 percent of the population but has .85 percent of federal homeland-security grants. That basically means $37.74 per capita for Wyoming, while New York state, the place that probably needs it most, gets $5.41 per capita. Does that make any sense at all?
A few more examples of pork spending are $18,000 for Segway scooters for the bomb squad in Santa Clara, CA; $98,000 on training courses in Lenawee County, MI which no one attended; $30,000 on a defibrillator to be on hand at high-school basketball games in Lake County, TN because so many people have heart attacks at high school basketball games… right so that sounds like pork barrel to me.
Here's a question for you. This year, John Marshall is buying our caps and gowns. That's great for us, but that is public money. Pork or no, what do you think?
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