Getting Congress to lay off the pork
By Jim Galewski

It appears Washington has gone on a pork barrel reduction. We just witnessed the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern’s $2.5 billion loan to rebuild its railroad bed across Minnesota get rejected. A loan of that proportion could only be financed through excessive government spending.

Congress continues to examine how it spends our money in a wasteful fashion. The waste reduction is slowed by Congress’ addiction to the pork barrel spending and how well lawmakers can shake the stink of government waste off them and cast the blame on the other party.
At present, the Democrats are shouting the loudest over the pork-barrel practice. Last year, the Republican-controlled Congress only reduced pork barrel spending. That gives the Democrats a chance to take credit for eliminating the wasteful practice.

Don’t expect the Democrats to succeed. Oh, I’m sure we’ll hear every step of the strides the Democratic-controlled Congress makes to eliminate the spending, but the practice will only get less audacious, it won’t go away.

This year, Democrats will have the stink of Democrat Alan Mollohan from West Virginia winning the 2006 Porker of the Year award. You see, wasteful government spending isn’t just a Republican or Democrat problem — regardless of what you hear.

Mollohan was given the Porker award for abusing his position on the House Appropriations Committee by securing millions of dollars in earmarks that may have benefited him personally. The New York Times (April 8, 2006) detailed how Mollohan directed $250 million to five nonprofit organizations he set up.

Congress didn’t need any new tools to help with its wasteful spending practice, but the Defense and Homeland Security Appropriations Acts has 24 projects that qualify as excessive.

Congress is so wasteful, a book is published every year detailing how the taxpayers get fleeced. “The Pig Book: How Government Wastes Your Money” by the Citizens Against Government Waste, has 53 pages detailing 375 wasteful projects in 2006.

Some of the projects the group identified include:

$13.5 million for the International Fund for Ireland, which helped finance the World Toilet Summit.

$6.4 million for wood utilization research in 11 states.

$1 million for the Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative in Michigan.

$500,000 for the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, N.C.

$102 million to study screwworms (long ago eradicated from American soil).

$273,000 to combat Goth culture in Missouri.

$50,000 for a tattoo removal program in California.

$1 million for ornamental fish research.

$2.2 million to renovate the North Pole.

$50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa.

$5.5 million for the Ernest Gallo Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco, which studies alcohol and drug abuse on the brain.

$1.65 million to a Seattle firm working on ways to improve the shelf life of vegetables.

$1 million to aid in the search for extraterrestrial aliens.

$1.35 million for the Obesity in the Military Research Program.

$100,000 to renovate a Coca-Cola building in Macon, Ga. (the company made $675 million last year).

$225,000 to rehabilitate a deer park pool.

$1.3 million for berry research in Alaska.

To qualify for the “Pig Book,” a project must be requested by only one chamber of Congress, not specifically authorized, not competitively awarded, not requested by the president and serve only a local or special interest.

It should be noted that Congress has been reducing the number of pork barrel projects every year, but you can hear Congress patting itself on the back all the way from Washington for that effort.

Unfortunately, the pork barrel train still has plenty of track. The DM&E project loan may have been the closest we’ve been to wasteful spending. It was highly doubtful the railroad could repay the loan.

As perverted as the loan request was, it may have been granted when fewer eyes were watching.

In politics, timing is important. Now isn’t the time to ask millions for frivolous projects. It didn’t appear anything was going to get in the way as the DM&E railroaded its proposal through. While the DM&E is our local pig in a poke, I’m sure the authors of the “Pig Book” have plans for another printing of the 2007 projects yet to be approved.

Jim Galewski is the retired editor and Opinion page editor of the Winona Daily News. His views don’t necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper. If you have an idea or tip about a Winona issue, call Jim at (507) 452-3960. His e-mail is Editor@Luminet.net.

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