Posted on January 31, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
The GAO just released a report called ”Congressional Directives: Selected Agencies’ Processes for Responding to Funding Instructions,” or in layman’s terms - Earmarks: How They Detract from Agencies’ Priorities.
The agencies that the GAO looked at were the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers’ Civil Works programs.
CAGW pulled from each [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Budget, Defense, Earmarks, Energy, In The News, Pork, Transportation | No Comments »
Posted on January 31, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
The Washington Times picked up on our dispute (background here) with Porker of the Year nominee (vote here) Rep. Don Young and compares Young’s response to a scene in the comedy Animal House:
Pork in the Animal House
In one of the classic scenes in the movie Animal House, the Delta boys are on trial for their [...]
Filed under: Earmarks, In The News, Media Hits, Pork, Porker | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 30, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
CAGW in conjunction with the Washington Policy Center just unveiled the Washington State Piglet Book: Connecting the Dots on How Government Wastes Your Money, the definitive guide for reducing waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the Washington state government.
Filed under: Budget, Piglet, State Issues | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 30, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Along with the explosion of earmarks came the explosion of lobbyists - now towns and states are spending thousands on hiring lobbyists to get their pork. This Roll Call article talks about the effect of earmark reform (or threats of reform) on lobbyists:
Appropriations Lobbyists Worried ($)
Though House Republicans’ tough talk on earmark reforms may turn out to be [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Earmarks, Reform | No Comments »
Posted on January 30, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
According to Roll Call, there is support in the House GOP for an earmark moratorium, but the leadership won’t go for it. The number of members who understand that the system is broken and are willing to give up their earmarks is growing.
Earmarks Still Roil GOP ($)
As President Bush prepared to launch a direct assault on [...]
Filed under: Earmarks, Reform | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 30, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Today we welcome Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) as the newest member of Congress to sign CCAGW’s Earmark Reform Pledge!
Current signatories as of 1/30/08:
Senators Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)
Reps. John Campbell (R-Calif.), Tom Feeney (R-Fla.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Tom Price (R-Ga.), Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), and John Shadegg (R-Ariz.).
Read the pledge:
Senate Earmark Pledge
House Earmark [...]
Filed under: Earmarks, Reform | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 29, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
January 2008 Wastewatcher
Featuring the following articles:
The Sound and Fury Over Payday Lending
By Marc Kilmer
There has been a lot of discussion about the practice of payday lending recently. Many self-appointed “consumer” advocates deplore the fact that people choose to borrow money from these lenders and are upset that these institutions have proliferated over the past decade. [...]
Filed under: Pork | No Comments »
Posted on January 29, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
See Tom Schatz discuss the President’s State of the Union and executive order on earmarks on CNBC’s Pork Watch from this morning here.
Filed under: In The News, Media Hits, Video | No Comments »
Posted on January 29, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Last Wednesday, Rep. Don Young faxed CAGW a letter responding to our selection of him as a 2007 Porker of the Year candidate. Read his letter refuting the reasons he is a Porker of the Year nominee and defending his pork long history of pork here.
Today, CAGW President Tom Schatz responded to Rep. Young’s charges [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Earmarks, Pork, Porker | No Comments »
Posted on January 28, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
CAGW Issued the Following Release:
Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) reacted with disappointment to reports that during his State of the Union address this evening, President Bush will announce his intention to issue an executive order which would require the appropriators in Congress to reduce congressional earmarks by half from 2008 levels and advise [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, In The News, Pork | No Comments »
Posted on January 28, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
According to today’s Wall Street Journal, the President will NOT issue an executive order telling federal agencies to ignore the earmarks that have appeared in the fiscal 2008 spending bills as had been (skeptically) hoped.
12-Step Earmark Withdrawal
…
Their latest halting effort in what appears to be at least a 12-step recovery plan will come tonight, when [...]
Filed under: Earmarks, In The News, Pork | No Comments »
Posted on January 25, 2008 by Leslie Paige
The GAO just released its most recent report on estimated improper payments made by federal agencies. Overall 2007 estimates for improper payments (overpayments or underpayments, but guess which one is most prevalent?) were $55 billion. The most vulnerable federal program was the Medicaid fee-for-service program, which had an estimated $13 billion in improper payments and that was only for [...]
Filed under: Pork | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 25, 2008 by Leslie Paige
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin delivered her State of the State on January 15, 2008 and I was intrigued by this excerpt:
To cultivate timber and agriculture, we’re encouraging responsible, economic efforts to revitalize our once-robust industries. We can and must continue to develop our economy, because we cannot and must not rely so heavily on federal [...]
Filed under: Pork | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 24, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
CAGW is sited extensively in this CNSNews.com article on Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) earmarks that was picked up by the Drudge Report:
Top Earmark-er Clinton Grants $303,000 to Gay Lobby Group
A group that lobbies for needle exchanges, for allowing more immigrants with HIV/AIDS to legally enter the country, and for condom distribution in prisons received a [...]
Filed under: Earmarks, In The News, Media Hits, Pork | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 23, 2008 by Leslie Paige
Take a look at this submission by Public Citizen’s lobbyist Craig Holman which appeared in yesterday’s Roll Call ($):
‘Bridges to Nowhere’ Are No More
Call them earmarks, if you must, but they ain’t the “pork” of yesteryear. Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D) and Norm Coleman (R) added a $195 million earmark to the omnibus appropriations bill to rebuild the collapsed [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Budget, Defense, Earmarks, In The News, Media Hits, Pig Book, Pork, Reform, Waste | No Comments »
Posted on January 23, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
See Tom Schatz this morning on Fox & Friends discuss the 2007 Porker of the Year nominees. Then read about the candidates and vote for your Porker of the Year here.
Filed under: In The News, Media Hits, Porker | No Comments »
Posted on January 22, 2008 by Libby Wright
A column in today’s N.Y. Times by Robert Pear indicates the White House will not issue an executive order advising federal agencies to ignore the earmarks contained in the report language of the fiscal 2008 spending bills. As you will recall, there are about 11,000 earmarks worth about $14 billion.
According to Pear, the White House [...]
Filed under: Pork | 3 Comments »
Posted on January 22, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
There are 6 well-qualified candidates for Porker of the Year 2007. Let your voice be heard - vote here: http://swineline.org/porkeroftheyear/
Filed under: Porker | 2 Comments »
Posted on January 18, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and the British TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) today spoke out against the European Commission’s (EC) draconian attempts to regulate and stifle business, especially successful US companies.CAGW has discussed this issue in the past in the report Property Rights in the 21st Century: Don’t Steal This Paper or My Ideas and the [...]
Filed under: International, Property Rights, Regulation, Technology | No Comments »
Posted on January 17, 2008 by Libby Wright
Rep. John Kline is taking a lot of heat. He recently told county commissioners in his district he would no longer be bringing home the bacon. You can read about it here. This has really stirred things up in his district and CAGW discussed his actions on CNBC’s “Pork Watch” which you can view here.
CAGW [...]
Filed under: Pork | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 17, 2008 by Libby Wright
Yesterday I posted comments from House Republican Leader John Boehner that were printed in the White House Bulletin. The good news continues. Looks like the Republican Caucus is hearing from taxpayers who want Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to fill the opening on the Appropriations Committee that was created when Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) was chosen [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Pork | No Comments »
Posted on January 17, 2008 by Dave Williams
This morning on KMOX, Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) was interviewed by Charlie Brennan about pork barrel spending. When asked about the possibility of foregoing his earmarks to pay for bridge inspection/repair and children’s healthcare, Sen. Bond said:
“The President’s offer doesn’t make any sense because the President’s budget office is the one that fought against providing [...]
Filed under: Pork | Tagged: Earmarks, Pork, Sen. Bond | No Comments »
Posted on January 16, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
January’s Porker of the Month is in the news again defending his pork:
Hobson Responds To ‘Porker’ Award
…In an interview with WHIOTV.COM, Hobson said he was not angry over the designation from C.A.G.W., but concerned that the group targeted the projects without looking into the background that prompted the earmarks.
“It is frustrating that they would not [...]
Filed under: Earmarks, In The News, Media Hits, Pork, Porker | No Comments »
Posted on January 16, 2008 by Libby Wright
Normally I would not advocate for human cloning but Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is one person taxpayers might like to see more of on Capitol Hill, in addition to their usual allies like Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) or Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) that fight for a smaller government, against wasteful spending, and lower taxes. Leader [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Pork | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 15, 2008 by Libby Wright
We are all waiting to see if the President will issue an executive order instructing federal agencies to ignore the 11,000 earmarks found in the report language of the omnibus and defense 2008 appropriations. We are keeping our fingers crossed but we suspect that it will not happen. It is hard to buck business in [...]
Filed under: Pork | No Comments »
Posted on January 15, 2008 by Leslie Paige
Read this article on the recommendations released today by the The National Surface Transportation and Revenue Study Commission on how to address and pay for our future transportation needs.
We knew this was coming. It won’t take long before this report, which was weighted heavily with commissioners who were pre-disposed in favor of massive gas tax increases to fund [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Budget, Earmarks, In The News, Pork, Waste | No Comments »
Posted on January 15, 2008 by Leslie Paige
CAGW VP for Policy David Williams appeared on Fox Business Network on Friday evening to denounce the congressional pay raise. Here is a link to the video: part 1 and part 2.
Filed under: Budget, In The News, Media Hits, Video, Waste | No Comments »
Posted on January 15, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
See Pres. Tom Schatz discuss two pork heroes: Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and his bid for a seat on the appropriations committee and Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) who has refused to ask for any more earmarks because the system is “corrupt.” Three cheers for these pork busters!
Filed under: Appropriations, Earmarks, In The News, Media Hits, Pork, Victories | No Comments »
Posted on January 15, 2008 by Leslie Paige
This story in the Hill is stuffed with fantastic comments and quotes about the possibility that President Bush might take an ax to earmarks by using an executive order. Here are a couple of whoppers:
A spokesman for Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) accused the Bush administration of hypocrisy for considering an executive order telling federal [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Budget, Earmarks, In The News, Pork, Reform, Waste | No Comments »
Posted on January 14, 2008 by Alexa Moutevelis
Rep. Hobson responds to Porker of the Month award through local media:
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Budget watchdog group names Ohio’s Hobson “Porker of the Month”
…”It helps to improve the quality of life for the entire community because it offers services that were not previously available for miles around,” said Hobson, who once came close to running out [...]
Filed under: Appropriations, Earmarks, In The News, Media Hits, Pork, Porker | 1 Comment »
