Citizens Against Govt Waste

If Washington, D.C. were to export a commodity, it would be rhetoric. Politicians especially love to talk about fiscal responsibility. On March 13, 2008 the Senate had an opportunity to test that rhetoric when Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) offered an amendment to impose a one-year moratorium on earmarks. Pork beat talk as the measure failed by a vote of 29-71

A few porkers:

Republicans are as guilty as the Dems when it comes to pork:

$7,556,660 for grape and wine research. Wine is a popular beverage. In fact, in 2006, per capita U.S. wine consumption was 2.39 gallons while the U.S. exported 404.5 million liters of wine. Total wine sales in 2006 were $27.8 billion. There is no pressing need for taxpayers to pay for this research.

$4,840,875 for wood utilization research in 10 states requested by nine representatives and 16 senators. Among the research areas is “refinement of processing technology for laminated veneer lumber for furniture, flooring, and other specialty industries.” As if no one has ever done that before. This research has cost taxpayers $90.8 million since 1985.

$1,648,850 for the Shedd Aquarium by Senate appropriator Richard Durbin (D-Ill), Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), House appropriator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.). The aquarium’s website says the facility was a “gift to the people of Chicago from John Graves Shedd, president and chairman of the board of Marshall Fields & Company.” This aquarium receives 2 million visitors per year and has 36 corporate benefactors. At the end of 2004 (the last year for which information is available), the aquarium had a fund balance of approximately $200 million. Those are some liquid assets.

$705,000 by House appropriator and CAGW 2007 Porker of the Year recipient John Murtha (D-Pa.) for Concurrent Technologies Corporation Corrections Learning Environment. According to a January 14, 2008 article in The New York Times, “In 1991, Mr. Murtha used a $5 million earmark to create the National Defense Center for Environmental Excellence in Johnstown to develop anti-pollution technology for the military. Since then, it has garnered more than $670 million in contracts and earmarks. Meanwhile it is managed by another contractor Mr. Murtha helped create, Concurrent Technologies, a research operation that somehow was allowed to be set up as a tax-exempt charity, according to The Washington Post. Thanks to Mr. Murtha, Concurrent has boomed; the annual salary for its top three executives averages $462,000.”

$121,400,000 for 44 projects by House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.), including $23,000,000 for the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). Rep. Murtha became infuriated by Rep. Mike Rogers’ (R-Mich.) motion to remove the NDIC earmark. According to Rogers, Rep. Murtha warned, “I hope you don’t have any earmarks in the defense appropriations bills because they are gone and you will not get any earmarks now and forever. … That’s the way I do it.” Since 1992, more than $509 million has been used to fund NDIC, which is administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ.). But DOJ has asked Congress to shut the NDIC down because its operations are duplicative. This project helped Rep. Murtha win CAGW’s 2007 Porker of the Year award.

$246,100 by Sens. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and Thomas Carper (D-Del.) for the Grand Opera House in Wilmington. On June 25, 2007, the Opera House announced its 2007-2008 season, featuring performances from artists such as comedian Lewis Black and rock and roll legends David Crosby and Graham Nash. Ticket prices, not tax dollars, should be raised to pay for additional work on the facility.

$1,950,000 by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) for a library and archives at the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at The City College of New York. This “Monument to Me” has caused some problems for the 19-term representative. The project was challenged on the House floor on July 19, 2007 by second-term Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.), who said, “You don’t agree with me or see any problem with us, as members, sending taxpayer funds in the creation of things named after ourselves while we’re still here?” Rep. Rangel responded, “I would have a problem if you did it, because I don’t think that you’ve been around long enough that having your name on something to inspire a building like this in a school.” Ego and taxpayer dollars clearly do not mix.

$49,000 by Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) for construction of a National Mule and Packers Museum in Bishop. Defending his earmark, Rep. McKeon stated, “One thing we forget is the people in Bishop pay taxes…they have gotten very little back from the federal government.” There are 3,575 people in Bishop. If they each pay just $13.71 to a local museum fund, all of the other Americans who pay taxes would not be forced to support a museum few are likely to visit.

Mack was not strong on the economy, just as he said, and just as he proved when he suspended his campaign to pass the Paulson-Goldman-Sachs bailout. The failure of the bill to pass without pork for the Dems added insult to injury. Mack never recovered from that.

What are the fiscally conservative issues that would sell? Fair Tax is one of my favorites, but I am not sure how easy it is to explain. I had to read a book about it. Repeal of Sarbanes Oxley would be a good one. Repeal of McCain-Feingold would be a good one since it’s dead anyway, and good symbolically too. Drill, Baby, Drill is a powerful economic issue. So is Coal, Baby, Coal and Nuclear, Baby, Nuclear. Making the Bush tax cuts permanent is a good one. Punishing Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac is a good one.

That was easier than I thought.

“A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.” –Alexander Hamilton

Study at Redstate University

but they like their own congresscritters. You gotta realize when most people talk about fiscal conservativism they don’t mean anything remotely philosophical or ideological. They mean cut money going to the other guy but don’t you dare touch their earmarks.