Pork Barrel Spending
You have to wonder why we allow our elected officials in Washington to add so much “pork” to our federal budget. We all know it goes on yet we seem powerless to do anything about it. It’s the same old game, year after year: “You approve my pork barrel spending and I’ll vote for your appropriation bill, whatever it might be…”
Pat DuHamel sent the following examples of pork barrel spending, all approved in the 14-volume U.S. Budget agreed upon by House and Senate Committees and approved by the White House. I haven’t verified them, but they don’t surprise me:
- A $240,000 grant for development of a two-headed stethoscope
- $112,350 for brass polish for the Marine Corps band servicing the White House
- A $84,425 printing allocation for posters to commemorate Bernard W. Trencher, the first settler of Muskegon Heights, MI.
- $2,075,000 to establish The Skateboard Hall of Fame in Palo Alto, CA
- A $26,500 grant for improving the packaging of flypaper
- A $3,000,000 allocation to the District of Columbia to promote a Miss District of Columbia Pageant
- $12,600 to replace the waffle irons in the Congressional dining room
- $615,000 for renovation of a skating rink in Plattsburg, NY
- A $770,000 grant to the College of the Pacific to study the effects of the 1994 devaluation of the Mexican peso and its effect on the U.S. ball bearing industry, and
- A $5,325,000 allocation to the National Institute of Health to study alcohol consumption on college campuses
We have a winner for 2006!
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) yesterday announced the final results of its online poll for the 2006 Porker of the Year. Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) received 48 percent of the vote with co-nominees Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) receiving 25.5 percent and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) receiving 22.9. The finalists were chosen by CAGW staff from among the 12 Porker of the Month winners for 2006.
Rep. Mollohan was named Porker of the Month in April 2006 for abusing his position on the House Appropriations Committee by securing millions of dollars in earmarks that may have benefited him personally. The New York Times (4/08/06) detailed how Rep. Mollohan directed $250 million to five nonprofit organizations that he set up. Rep. Mollohan surrendered his seat as ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee in April.
And the band plays on…
Doug
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