Watch Your Pocketbook . . . "Oink, Oink"
By William Bailey (10/28/03)
I have come to the conclusion that anytime a member of the U.S. House or the U.S. Senate takes the floor and starts rhetoric which, on the surface, sounds like genuine concern for the taxpayers of this country, you better watch your pocketbook.
And, on this issue and subject it happens from “both sides of the aisle”. It appears that there is great concern about the “national debt” and the “deficit”, but as we all know, appearances can be quite deceiving. While there has been a loud outpouring of this concern, the members of Congress continue to add to pork barrel spending. So, one must wonder how genuine is this concern. In addition to the “pork barrel” spending, it behooves us to also look at what’s been happening to that part of the Federal budget known as “Entitlement Programs”.
In case you haven’t been watching over the past few years, here’s what’s been happening to Entitlement Programs. These are the programs, created by law and signed into existence by the President. They are mandatory, insofar as funding is concerned, unless and until the law is either repealed or amended.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the percentage of the Federal budget consumed by these mandatory programs was: 32% in 1962; 37% in 1970; 47% in 1986; 51.8% in 1995; 57% in 1998; 58.2% in 2003; and, it is estimated that it will reach 73% by 2009. And, this doesn’t include the “pork”.
Each year, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), publishes their “Pig Book” for the current fiscal budget period. It is from the latest issue of that publication that the data/information that follows is taken.
For fiscal 2003, Congressional appropriators added 9,362 projects in the 13 appropriations bills. In the past two years, the total number of projects has increased 48%. The cost of the 2003 projects was $22.5 billion . . . 12% more than the previous year’s $20.1 billion. Since 1991, total “pork”, as identified by CAGW totals $162 billion.
CAGW has seven criteria to be categorized as “pork”. Projects must meet at least one of the seven, but most satisfy at least two (sometimes more). The seven criteria are:
** Requested by only one chamber of Congress
** Not specifically authorized
** Not competitively awarded
** Not requested by the President
** Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding
** Not the subject of congressional hearings, or
** Serves only a local or special interest
Let’s take a look at some of these “pork” projects. As we do, please understand that this is not an effort to comment on the “worthiness” of the project. It is, however, an effort to question whether the project is “worthy” of being included in the Federal budget . . . whether it is a proper function of the Federal government to provide the funds. I believe you will quickly see why I say, “Watch your pocketbook”. Keep in mind . . . these are but a few. The full report can be found at www.cagw.org. One other comment, the report from CAGW identifies both the state and the Senator/Congressman. My goal/intent is not to single out any state or member of Congress . . . it is to provide information as to what’s going on.
In the area of Agriculture:
*** $33,000,000-National Animal Disease Center
*** $700,000-Midwest Poultry Consortium
*** $235,000-Dairy education
*** $210,000-Hoop barns
*** $9,200,000-Southern Horticulture Laboratory
*** $2,000,000-Plant propagation facility
*** $750,000-Ornamental crops
*** $8,400,000-Cereal Crops Research Laboratory
*** $3,000,000-Nutrient Management Laboratory
*** $1,200,000-Seafood harvesting, processing and marketing
*** $740,000-Aquaculture product and marketing
*** $6,170,000-Wood utilization research
*** $4,214,000-Shrimp aquaculture research
In the area of Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary
*** $14,000,000-for a specific ferry
*** $1,500,000-Shrimper assistance
*** $1,000,000-Oyster recovery
*** $66,000,000-for Federal prison system buildings and facilities at a specific location
*** $3,000,000-National Center for Justice and the Rule of Law
*** $7,800,000-for specific sea turtles
In the area of Defense
*** $6,375,000-automated clinical practices guidelines
*** $4,300,000-Center of Excellence for Disaster Management
*** $1,000,000-Brown tree snakes
*** $3,000,000-Dental research
*** $5,300,000-National Automotive Center
In the area of the District of Columbia
*** $19,000,000-D.C. public charter school facilities
*** $12,500,000-Education studies and programs
In the area of Energy and Water
*** $216,000,000-for cleanup of a specific site
*** $141,000,000-for cleanup of another specific site in a different state
*** $63,000,000-for cleanup of (yet) another specific site
*** $34,000,000-for cleanup of (yet) another specific site
*** $2,000,000-cleanup activities (different state)
In the area of Foreign Operations
*** $25,000,000-International Fund for Ireland
*** $4,000,000-International Fertilizer Development Center
*** $2,500,000-International Arid Lands Consortium
*** $2.750,000-U.N. Fund for Technical Cooperation and U.N. Development Fund for Women
In the area of Interior
*** $13,589,000-specific projects in a specific state
*** $12, 484,000-specific projects in a specific state . . . including $1,000,000 for a DNA study of bears
And, it goes on and on and on. As indicated earlier, you can get the “specifics” at the website of Citizens Against Government Waste (www.cagw.org). Let me repeat . . . I am not attempting to comment on the worthiness of any project nor single out any state or particular member of Congress. I do believe that serious consideration must be given to whether the project is worthy of Federal government financing.
Until such time as “We the People” start paying attention to, and commenting on, what’s going on with the finances of the Federal government, it will be business as usual and the “oink, oink” will continue . . . only at an ever-increasing pace.
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