CAGW's 2003 Porker of the Year Campaign

[MORTARDUDE]

As you know, 2003 saw tens of billions of taxpayer dollars thrown at special interest, pork-barrel projects and redundant, mismanaged government programs. But who truly stood out as the worst custodian of your hard-earned money? You decide! Click here to vote for CAGW?s 2003 Porker of the Year today!



About this year?s nominees:



Representative Jim Gibbons

Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.), CAGW?s December 2003 Porker of the Month, threw a life-preserver to a hometown project by earmarking $225,000 in the fiscal 2004 Omnibus Spending bill to help repair a 61-year-old public swimming pool a block from where he grew up in Sparks, Nevada. In the 1950s, he and some of his friends clogged the drain with tadpoles causing the pool to temporarily shut down. Rep. Gibbons finally admitted responsibility for the incident, known as the ?Polliwog Caper,? last year. If only every American had the opportunity to spend federal tax dollars to appease their guilt and atone for the sins of their childhood.





Senator Arlen Specter

CAGW named Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) its October Porker of the Month for stuffing an emergency supplemental spending bill with $1.4 million in pork-barrel projects to benefit his home state. President Bush submitted a request for $1.9 billion in emergency funding to help cover natural disasters, homeland security, and costs associated with the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. By the time Congress finished with the spending measure, it contained $65 million for extraneous projects, including three in Pennsylvania ? $1 million for the Geisinger Health System to establish centers of excellence for the treatment of autism, $200,000 for the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, and $200,000 for the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine for a minority outreach oral health initiative.





Senator Ted Stevens

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) earned the title July Porker of the Month for promising to filibuster a resolution that would reduce pork-barrel spending if it reached the Senate floor. As the top porker per capita in the U.S. Congress, Sen. Stevens stayed true to form by trying to deny a vote on S. Res. 173, which would have allowed any senator to raise a point of order against earmarks in appropriations bills. Such items are not specifically authorized by law and also skirt the congressional review process. Introduced by the Senate?s number one pork-barrel critic, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), and co-sponsored by Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), the resolution would require 60 votes to keep an earmark in a bill.





Senator Tom Harkin

CAGW named Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) its April 2003 Porker of the Month for strapping on the feedbag and earmarking emergency wartime funds to pay for an agricultural facility in his home state. President Bush requested supplemental war funding to support Department of Defense operations in Iraq and the Department of Homeland Security. According to Sen. Harkin, the $98 million he secured for the Ames, Iowa agricultural research station is crucial in order to combat bioterrorism in the form of animal diseases. The lab in Ames will be "one of the key elements in our national effort in the war on bioterrorism," asserted the senator.





Representative Terry Everett

Rep.Terry Everett (R-Ala.) became the March 2003 Porker of the Month for requesting funding for the National Peanut Festival in the fiscal 2003 Omnibus Appropriations bill. Among the thousands of pet projects in last year?s spending measure, Rep. Everett's truly stands out. After he asked appropriators for $200,000 for a new agricultural arena on the peanut festival grounds in Dothan, Alabama, Rep. Everett admitted that he was shocked to see his request was even granted, let alone received an additional $2,500 in funds. In the planning stages for more than two years, the facility will require an additional $300,000 before construction can begin.





Click here to vote for the 2003 Porker of the year today!





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Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest taxpayer watchdog group with over one million members and supporters nationwide. It is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more information about CAGW, visit our website at www.cagw.org. To make a tax deductible contribution to CAGW's 2003 Porker of the Year Campaign, please click here.