This is last year's (1998); this year's (1999) will be up on the site later today ... >From http://www.cagw.org/ CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENTWASTE Home | About CAGW | Join Us | Media | WasteWatcher Index | Search | Privacy Policy 1998 Pig Book: Introduction As official Washington ponders what to do with a federal "budget surplus," and how to respond to a court decision finding the line-item veto law unconstitutional, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) presents a dose of reality. The 1998 Congressional Pig Book Summary illustrates that the only "surplus" is the excessive amount of pork being served on Capitol Hill. The 302 projects cited in this year�s Pig Book, worth $1.8 billion, are the most egregious examples of the more than 2,100 pork-barrel items identified by CAGW in the fiscal year (FY) 1998 appropriations bills � an increase of more than 500 items since FY 1997. Total pork-barrel spending dropped by $1.3 billion, or 9 percent, from $14.5 billion to $13.2 billion since last year. A pleasant surprise, but it would have been a remarkable achievement, even for Congress, to increase pork by another 16 percent, as it did in 1996 and 1997. If members of Congress showed restraint out of fear of the line-item veto, their concerns were ill-founded. Out of $526.6 billion in FY 1998 discretionary spending, the President vetoed only $483 million, or 0.1 percent. He not only missed a historic opportunity to wage an all-out war on pork, he also sent a message to appropriators that they need not worry about their pet projects. The top three increases from FY 1997 to FY 1998 were: Foreign Operations from $32 million to $202 million (522 percent); Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Inde-pendent Agencies (VA/HUD) from $336 million to $683 million (103 percent); and Energy and Water from $270 million to $460 million (70 percent). The best, Legislative Branch, was pork-free. The new flavor of pork for FY 1998, the Economic Development Initiative (EDI) program, leaves a sour taste in taxpayers� mouths. When these projects were called special purpose grants in prior VA/HUD Appropriations bills, Republicans took Democrats to task and called them some of the worst examples of wasteful spending in Washington. EDI funds in FY 1998 went to science centers, theaters, an art gallery and other not-so-national priorities. Other popular venues for pork included USDA special research grants and DOT bus and bus-related facilities grants. Mississippi led the country with $848 million in total pork. The state�s per capita pork was $310, shattering Hawaii�s per capita total of $131 in 1997. The runners-up were Alaska with $205 per capita ($125 million), the District of Columbia with $123 per capita ($65 million), and Hawaii with $86 per capita ($102 million). Euphoric talk of a budget surplus is premature and dangerous. Premature because the surplus is predicated on increased revenue and ignores more than $800 billion in additional debt through FY 2003, and dangerous because too many officials want taxpayers to let their guards down and not worry about government waste. Who said you can�t balance the budget and waste money at the same time? The temptation to throw away our tax dollars will be greater than ever, and stopping it will require the utmost vigilance. All of the items in the Pig Book Summary meet at least one of CAGW�s seven criteria, but most satisfy at least two: �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. Return to Pig Book Table of Contents For More Information Contact: Citizens Against Government Waste 1301 Connecticut Ave., NW Washington, DC 20036 Tel: 1-800-BE-ANGRY FAX: 202-467-4253 E-mail: webmaster@cagw Copyright � 1997 Citizens Against Government Waste ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. -Thomas Huxley + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
