Deficit Spending: Pork Award Goes To Thad (R-MS) For $490M

By Julie Smith on April 18, 2010, 7:15 am

When you are a politician, the last thing you want to win is the Pork Award. The Pork Award ‘honors’ politicians who manage to spend the largest amount of money on wasteful projects. Members of the congress frequently try to bring as much money as possible back to their district, but earning an award for being fiscally irresponsible is even more shameful when you are a member of a party dedicated to cutting wasteful government spending.

The Oinker Awards – A Dubious Honor

Alaska no longer leads the list in pork-barrel projects. The infamous bridge to nowhere ended roughly about the same time that Ted Stevens left Congress. Hawaii has taken over Alaska’s number one spot. The most northerly state in the Union has slipped to number four. The Pig Book, put out by the non-partisan Citizens Against Government Waste, was smaller than this year than it had been in previous years. This is in part due to pressure from voters to end earmark. Missouri Senator Thad Cochran earned the dubious honor of being labeled ‘Thad the Impaler’ in this annual report on government spending.

Cochran’s $490 Million Bill

The Missouri Senator earned the title by requesting the highest number of earmarks. He also had the highest number of requested projects of any senator at 240. When his office was contacted, a spokesperson said that Cochran asked for funds only for meritorious projects. Critics often see government spending on some projects as wasteful, but senators contend that the projects often create jobs.

 

Projects that are not competitively awarded, were requested by only one senator, were not requested by the president, or that exceed the president’s budget requests qualify for the Pig Book. The number of earmarks has dropped this year, as has the number of pork projects. Citizens Against Government Waste believes the drop in earmarks is a step in the right direction, but that they will have to issue another report next year.

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3. Obama Pushes Spend Plan In Vegas After Creating Budget Deficit Comm.
4. Spending Control Is A Tricky Issue: What To Cut And What To Keep
5. America Getting Out Of Goverment Debt Is A Fantasy