The outrage of millions of taxpayers following the $700 billion bank bailout and the $787 billion stimulus bill did not stop Congress from passing and President Obama from signing a bloated $410 billion Omnibus Appropriations Act in March. With the subsequent approval of the President’s budget, the national debt will triple over the next 10 years. That leaves plenty of opportunities for pork to remain pervasive in the nation’s capital.
The fiscal year 2009 appropriations process was unique as three of the appropriations bills (Defense, Homeland Security and Military Construction) were passed and signed on September 30, 2008 under a different Congress and President. But the change in control in the White House did not change the culture of corruption that surrounds pork-barrel spending.
The latest installment of Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) 19-year exposé of pork-barrel spending includes $3,800,000 for the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy; $1,900,000 for the Pleasure Beach water taxi service project; and $1,791,000 for swine odor and manure management research.
In fiscal year 2009, Congress stuffed 10,160 projects into the 12 appropriations bills worth $19.6 billion. The projects represent a 12.5 percent decrease from the 11,610 projects in fiscal year 2008. The $19.6 billion is a 14 percent increase over the fiscal year 2008 total of $17.2 billion, belying claims of reduced spending. Total pork identified by CAGW since 1991 adds up to $290 billion. Much more keep reading…
Its Tax Day Tea Party time to try and stop the waste in government! But will they listen to the voice of the people? If they don’t listen then they need to be voted out of office!
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