We're All Being Mugged. Why Hasn't Anyone Called the Cops?
Citizens Against Government Waste has released their new "2006 Congressional Pig Book Summary" - a catalog of 375 of 2005's worst earmarks (remember Alaska's bridge to nowhere?). Among this year's entries, $13,500,000 for the International Fund for Ireland, which helped finance the World Toilet Summit; $6,435,000 for wood utilization research; and $1,000,000 for the Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative.
How did the Year of Abramoff compare to past years? Well, according to CAGW, "Congress porked out at record dollar levels with $29 billion in pork for 2006, or 6.2 percent more than last year’s total of $27.3 billion. In fact, the total cost of pork has increased by 29 percent since fiscal 2003. Total pork identified by CAGW since 1991 adds up to $241 billion."
Teddy boy Stevens helped yet again bring an enormous amount of pork home to Alaska, but Teddy's $325 million heading to Alaska in 2005 was less than the $985 million he brought home the year before? Has Teddy seen the light? Has he reformed and decided that we need to all pitch in together to help the country as a whole? Have pigs started flying? Of Course Not! The difference can be tracked to one simple fact - Teddy boy isn't the Chairman of Senate Appropriations Committee anymore. (Watch to see the increase in appropriations funds flowing to Chairman Cochran's state of Mississippi this year.)
So where else has the money gone this last year?
Alasaka: $25,000,000 for rural and native villages; $1,300,000 for berry research; $1,099,000 for alternative salmon products; $500,000 for fruit and berry crop trials for rural villages; $443,000 for new crop opportunities; $331,000 for food preparation and marketing research; $300,000 for commercialization of native plant materials; $250,000 for ethnobotany research; $166,000 for salmon quality standards; and $75,000 for seafood waste research.
Bob Bennett's Utah: $300,000 for the Oquirrh Institute. According to the Institute’s website, "The Oquirrh Institute was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The Institute's mission is to shine early light on public policy dilemmas and establish innovative solutions." According to USDA testimony, “The principal researchers have not yet determined a completion date on this project.” A total of $500 has been raised from corporations and foundations. Taxpayers have “contributed” $550,000 to Oquirrh since 2004.
Taking care of our burgeoning wine industry: $2,100,000 for the viticulture consortium in California, New York, and Pennsylvania. According to USDA testimony, “The original goal of this research was to maintain or enhance the competitiveness of the United States viticulture and wine industry in the global market.”
$234,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation. According to the organization’s website, “Thanks to the work of federal, state and provincial wildlife agencies and the NWTF's many volunteers and partners, there are now close to 7 million wild turkeys and nearly 3 million turkey hunters.” None of whom, apparently, can put money towards hunting their wild turkeys.
-- $17,000,000 for the digitization of DOD manuals.
-- $2,500,000 for a small business pilot program to re-engineer the DOD vendor payment process.
-- $500,000 for the Arctic Winter Games. (Teddy & Alaska again)
-- $1,000,000 for the Gaming-Technology Software Initiative
-- $26,350,000 for a facility restoration plan at the Allegheny Ballistics Lab (Bob Byrd keeping money flowing into West Virginia for decades now)
-- $1,000,000 added by the Senate for a competency-based distance education initiative with Western Governors University in the state of Senate appropriator Robert Bennett (R-Utah). This school is a private university that only gained accreditation in 2003. A close examination of their website does not reveal any defense-related missions.
-- 13.4 percent of total Louisiana pork, or $13,500,000, was allocated to one project, the J. Bennett Johnston Waterway, even though it is only used by 4 percent of Louisiana’s commercial traffic. And, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, the waterway’s costs will not be justified until 2046.
And money going to a project in Missouri that isn't even supported by the people it's going to! $5,880,000 for the Zora and Main Street Interchange. The Zora and Main Street Interchange is Missouri’s very own bridge to nowhere. Joplin requested the funding, purportedly to maintain safety and prevent congestion in the town of 50,000 people. But many local residents are adamantly opposed to the project. They maintain that the bridge and the interchange are being constructed on back roads that lie in the middle of nowhere. One resident noted, “They claim they are building this interchange to cut down congestion. There is no congestion. This is a deserted area in a small town.”
And don't forget that giant sucking sound in the earth you hear as you walk by the Capitol any given day -- the visitor's center. According to CAGW, $5,000,000 was added last year. "Since construction began in fall 2001, Congress has continued to pour funding into this monument to excess and waste. The cost has risen from $265 million to at least $584 million and is running two years behind schedule."
How did the Year of Abramoff compare to past years? Well, according to CAGW, "Congress porked out at record dollar levels with $29 billion in pork for 2006, or 6.2 percent more than last year’s total of $27.3 billion. In fact, the total cost of pork has increased by 29 percent since fiscal 2003. Total pork identified by CAGW since 1991 adds up to $241 billion."
Teddy boy Stevens helped yet again bring an enormous amount of pork home to Alaska, but Teddy's $325 million heading to Alaska in 2005 was less than the $985 million he brought home the year before? Has Teddy seen the light? Has he reformed and decided that we need to all pitch in together to help the country as a whole? Have pigs started flying? Of Course Not! The difference can be tracked to one simple fact - Teddy boy isn't the Chairman of Senate Appropriations Committee anymore. (Watch to see the increase in appropriations funds flowing to Chairman Cochran's state of Mississippi this year.)
So where else has the money gone this last year?
Alasaka: $25,000,000 for rural and native villages; $1,300,000 for berry research; $1,099,000 for alternative salmon products; $500,000 for fruit and berry crop trials for rural villages; $443,000 for new crop opportunities; $331,000 for food preparation and marketing research; $300,000 for commercialization of native plant materials; $250,000 for ethnobotany research; $166,000 for salmon quality standards; and $75,000 for seafood waste research.
Bob Bennett's Utah: $300,000 for the Oquirrh Institute. According to the Institute’s website, "The Oquirrh Institute was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The Institute's mission is to shine early light on public policy dilemmas and establish innovative solutions." According to USDA testimony, “The principal researchers have not yet determined a completion date on this project.” A total of $500 has been raised from corporations and foundations. Taxpayers have “contributed” $550,000 to Oquirrh since 2004.
Taking care of our burgeoning wine industry: $2,100,000 for the viticulture consortium in California, New York, and Pennsylvania. According to USDA testimony, “The original goal of this research was to maintain or enhance the competitiveness of the United States viticulture and wine industry in the global market.”
$234,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation. According to the organization’s website, “Thanks to the work of federal, state and provincial wildlife agencies and the NWTF's many volunteers and partners, there are now close to 7 million wild turkeys and nearly 3 million turkey hunters.” None of whom, apparently, can put money towards hunting their wild turkeys.
-- $17,000,000 for the digitization of DOD manuals.
-- $2,500,000 for a small business pilot program to re-engineer the DOD vendor payment process.
-- $500,000 for the Arctic Winter Games. (Teddy & Alaska again)
-- $1,000,000 for the Gaming-Technology Software Initiative
-- $26,350,000 for a facility restoration plan at the Allegheny Ballistics Lab (Bob Byrd keeping money flowing into West Virginia for decades now)
-- $1,000,000 added by the Senate for a competency-based distance education initiative with Western Governors University in the state of Senate appropriator Robert Bennett (R-Utah). This school is a private university that only gained accreditation in 2003. A close examination of their website does not reveal any defense-related missions.
-- 13.4 percent of total Louisiana pork, or $13,500,000, was allocated to one project, the J. Bennett Johnston Waterway, even though it is only used by 4 percent of Louisiana’s commercial traffic. And, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, the waterway’s costs will not be justified until 2046.
And money going to a project in Missouri that isn't even supported by the people it's going to! $5,880,000 for the Zora and Main Street Interchange. The Zora and Main Street Interchange is Missouri’s very own bridge to nowhere. Joplin requested the funding, purportedly to maintain safety and prevent congestion in the town of 50,000 people. But many local residents are adamantly opposed to the project. They maintain that the bridge and the interchange are being constructed on back roads that lie in the middle of nowhere. One resident noted, “They claim they are building this interchange to cut down congestion. There is no congestion. This is a deserted area in a small town.”
And don't forget that giant sucking sound in the earth you hear as you walk by the Capitol any given day -- the visitor's center. According to CAGW, $5,000,000 was added last year. "Since construction began in fall 2001, Congress has continued to pour funding into this monument to excess and waste. The cost has risen from $265 million to at least $584 million and is running two years behind schedule."
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