Today, the group Citizens Against Government Waste released their annual "Pig Book" where they detail what they consider to be wasteful pork barrel spending. And, every year, the news networks dutifully report on all of the horrible spending that those nasty Congresscritters are spending our hard earned money on. But is it really all that wasteful? Let's take a look at some of the items that CAGW feels are so egregious that they have put them on their website as examples. I apologize for the length of this diary, but it's high time somebody called out CAGW as the short-sighted dimwits they are.
$4,545,000 for wood utilization research in 10 states by 19 senators and 10 representatives. This research has cost taxpayers $95.3 million since 1985. One would think that after 24 years of research all the purposes for one of the world’s most basic construction materials would have been discovered.
Because it would be ridiculous for the government to spend money on one of our most plentiful and valuable natural resources.
$1,762,000 by Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), House appropriator Chet Edwards (D-Texas), and Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas) for a honey bee lab in Weslaco.
Did they forget that we're dealing with Colony Collapse Disorder which could lead to the destruction of agriculture across the country and around the world?
$254,000 by Senate appropriator Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) for the Montana Sheep Institute. According to the organization’s website, “The Montana Sheep Institute (MSI) is a cooperative project betweenMontanaWool GrowersAssociation
and Montana State University. The MSI is dedicated to developing and implementing nontraditional adjustment strategies that will increase the competitiveness of Montana’s lamb and wool in the world market. Our goal is to explore opportunities to increase the utilization of sheep in weed management programs and improve the profitability and competitiveness of theMontana Sheep Industry.” Since 2002, CAGWhas uncovered seven earmarks worth $3,033,950 for theMontana Sheep Institute. This is money b-a-a-a-a-a-a-dly spent.
Awwww, how cute. They made a funny. Too bad the fact that our economy is being destroyed by cheap raw materials from overseas. We need to find new ways to make American wool competitive so we can protect ranchers across the west and their unique way of life. Apparently CAGW would rather just make bad puns.
How about we take a look at some spending from the Commerce, Justice, and Science Bill?
$41,065,000 for 26 projects by Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), including: $1,000,000 for the University of Maryland College Park for its Advanced Study Institute for Environmental Prediction to study climate impacts and adaptation in the Mid-Atlantic region; $1,000,000 for Coppin State University, Towson University, and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute to partner on a program to increase the number and quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teachers in the region's public schools; $550,000 for the NOAA Chesapeake Bay office for blue crab research; $500,000 for the NOAA Chesapeake Bay office for a network of environmental observation platforms; and $500,000 to Charles County public schools for a digital classroom project.
Hmmmm. Studying ways to minimize the effects of climate change, making schools better, and improving local food supplies. What part of this was the pork?
$6,700,000 for 11 projects by Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee member Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) including: $750,000 for law enforcement research and development at the University of New Hampshire; $350,000 for the Appalachian Mountain Club Climate Change and Air Pollutant Impacts to New England’s Rare Alpine Zone; $300,000 for the University of New Hampshire for weather and air quality research; $200,000 for continued weather technology and observation at Plymouth State University; $150,000 for the Nashua Police Department Athletic League’s Youth Safe Haven program; $100,000 to continue efforts to develop a comprehensive watershed management plan for Lake Winnipesaukee; and $100,000 for the New Hampshire Lakes Association to prevent the spread of exotic aquatic weeds, such as milfoil, in the state’s lakes.
Improving law enforcement and protection, studying air quality, monitoring some of the most unpredictable weather in the country, and protecting one of the major tourist draws in New Hampshire (the second largest industry in the state). Still looking for the pork.
$200,000 by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) for the Providence Holy Cross Foundation tattoo removal violence prevention program in Mission Hills. In fiscal 2002 there was a $50,000 earmark for a tattoo removal program in San Luis Obispo, in the district of Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.). It is now time for a pork removal program.
Ooooh, they were funny again. Certainly much funnier than the gang violence in American cities. You see, gangs use tattoos to identify other members. When a person wants to leave a gang, if they don't get rid of the tattoo, they'll never be able to stay out. But they usually can't afford to remove the tattoo on their own. This program helps to get people out of violent gangs. Still pork CAGW?
I'm skipping over defense appropriations. Not because CAGW isn't making stupid points again, but because I really don't have the background and expertise to point out their most egregious idiocy. I'll leave that to a Kossack with more defense expertise. Perhaps someone in the military (cough, kos, cough)? On to Energy and Water.
$35,260,250 for 24 projects by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member Mary Landrieu (D-La.), including: $1,903,000 with scandal-plagued then-Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) for a clean power energy research consortium; $735,000 for Livingston Parish; $478,000 for the Port of Iberia; $400,000 for East Baton Rouge Parish; $287,000 for Spring Bayou; $254,000 for the city of Gretna; $229,000 for Cross Lake; $119,000 for ecosystem restoration of the Amite River and its tributaries; $191,000 for Bossier Parish; and $155,000 for the Calcasieu River and pass navigation.
Okay, first off, why the need to point out that the guy who got voted out was working on this? Yes, he was corrupt. But does anyone really think he was the driving force in trying to research clean power to help get us off of foreign oil? Or the ecosystem restoration that will help to prevent future flooding? You may have forgotten CAGW, but flooding has been a pretty big problem in Lousiana.
$10,000,000 for the Denali Commission. Even though the Denali Commission was established by then-Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) in 1999, funding still continues.
That's odd. Aside from a mention of disgraced Senator Tubes, there's nothing to complain about, except the government is spending money. Well, the Denali Commission is a public/private commission that focuses on infrastructure and other types of assistance for rural communities in Alaska. You know, those communities that deal with providing us with the Alaskan seafood we all rely on.
$951,500 by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and House appropriator Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) for downtown Detroit energy efficient street lighting. That’s the least of the city’s problems.
Yes, let's kick Detroit while it's down. Does Detroit have other problems? Yes, and that's why we're working with the auto industry. But while that's going on, why not try and use a little less electricity to save the city money and reduce the pollution a little at the same time, shall we? On to Financial Services, which is blissfully short.
$98,257 by House appropriator James Moran (D-Va.) in SBA money for the Georgetown Metro Connection, a bus service that runs from Georgetown in Washington, D.C. to the neighborhood of Dupont Circle in D.C. and to Rosslyn, Virginia, conveniently located in Rep. Moran’s district.
So, the problem is that we're reducing pollution, improving traffic flow, and reducing our consumption of foreign oil. Apparently we shouldn't listen to the person who knows the area best because that's wrong, or something. Let's do a short section on Homeland Security now.
$22,345,000 for 33 projects for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) State and Local Programs by 67 members of Congress, spread among 22 states, including towns such as Poynette, Wisconsin (population 2,520), and Bellerose, New York (population 1,120).
Okay, I'm just puzzled now. Is the problem that the projects that are being supported might help people in small towns? Do we not care about people in small towns anymore? Time to check out some Interior "pork".
$22,905,000 for 18 projects by Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), including: $2,446,000 for three earmarks for Monongahela National Forest trails, roads, and facilities; $2,250,000 for the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge; $2,000,000 for Harper’s Ferry National Historic Park; $1,500,000 for telecommunications and roads at the National Conservation Training Center; $1,000,000 for the Ohio River Sanitation Commission for organic detection system improvements; and $125,000 for Fisherman’s Hall in Charles Town, which, “Since its construction in the 1880s, … has been used by a variety of benevolent societies, including the Grand United Order of Galilean Fishermen.”
I think this one got picked up just because Senator Byrd sponsored it. So we're upset with this spending because Senator Byrd has specified that major national parks, including one that displays a major event in the fight to end slavery, should get funding from the Department of the Interior. And the Department of Interior oversees national parks. I'm confused. Ooooh, maybe it's because of the funny name of the group that used the Fisherman's Hall?
$1,100,000 for three projects by House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), including $300,000 for the Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center. Perhaps next year, if the park and Rep. Lewis still haven’t found (all the money they’re) lookin’ for, they could ask Bono and U-2 for help instead of the taxpayers.
I've seriously had enough of the jokes. And the reason the government is being asked to help improve and support the Joshua Tree National Park is because THAT'S THE GOVERNMENT'S JOB!
$500,000 by then-House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Tom Udall (D-N.M.) for the Galisteo Basin Archeological sites. The Galisteo Basin Archaeological Sites Protection Act, which designated 24 sites in New Mexico as archaeological protection sites, was signed into law in 2004. Two years earlier, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill “could affect direct spending” but “any such effects would be negligible.” Only in Washington, D.C. is $500,000 “negligible.”
I include this one to show how myopic CAGW is. We've spent billions of dollars in Iraq and we're trillions of dollars in debt. Yes, $500,000 in the federal budget is negligible. And heaven forbid that we spend money to better understand our national heritage.
$50,000 by House appropriator Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) for tree replacement in River Rouge. According to the 2000 Census, River Rouge had a population of less than 10,000 people.
It took me about five seconds to figure out why this is important. You see, River Rouge, MI is on, naturally, the River Rouge. And when you lose trees along a river, it makes it more prone to erosion, which makes flooding a bigger problem. This is a case of spending a little money now to prevent a major problem later, since the River Rouge happens to flow into the Detroit River. I wonder what city that's near? Let's move on to Labor and HHS before I lose my mind.
$132,729,000 for 84 programs by Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), including: $5,471,000 for the Iowa Department of Education to continue the Harkin Grant Program and $381,000 for the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra’s residency program. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) proposed an amendment to eliminate funding for the Harkin Grant Program, which failed by a vote of 43-61. On the floor of the Senate on March 4, 2009, Sen. Harkin defended the earmarking process: “I basically disagree with sort of the underlying premise that somehow executive branch employees, all those bureaucrats, have a much better understanding of where and how Federal funds should be spent most effectively … over the years we have permitted that to happen, but we, through our oversight functions, can look at how that money is being spent … I am proud of both of those earmarks or congressionally directed spending, and I stand behind them.” If Sen. Harkin knows it all, just get rid of those pesky bureaucrats and earmark every penny of the budget.
I include this for two reasons. First the Harkin Grant Program is not pork. It provides funding for local school districts to improve their fire safety and construction or remodeling with a 50% local match. Basically, it improves schools and saves children's lives. The other reason is because Senator Harkin has laid out why making fun of pork is pointless. Local representatives and senators have a better idea of what is going on in their states and districts. We should listen to them. Otherwise, why do we have local representation?
$3,140,000 for nine projects by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.), including: $856,000 for after school programs in Chippewa Falls; $476,000 each for after school programs in Turtle Lake and Ashland; and $95,000 for after school programs in Tomahawk.
Who needs to keep kids off the street after school? Except for the fact that it has been shown that keeping kids in school and off the street keeps kids out of trouble, thus improving education and reducing crime. I guess we all need to keep kids off the street after school.
$238,000 by Senate appropriator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) for the Alaska PTA in Anchorage to “train parents in their roles and responsibilities under the No Child left Behind Act.”
First off, I'm no fan of No Child Left Behind. But it is the law of the land at the moment. And if we expect to have parents involved with their children's education, shouldn't we also expect that we tell them what the federal government expects of them?
You know what, this diary has gone on long enough and I've made my point. I could continue on with the fact that CAGW is also coming out against funding a program that would help train effective and ethical public leaders, a program that would solve the problem that CAGW thinks we have, but that would be redundant. CAGW shows itself to be a short-sighted organization that seems to exist just to whine that the government has the audacity to spend money in ways that local communities think would be helpful. This year is no exception.