“Pork Fat”

We hear and read terms like “pork barrel spending” and “local pork projects” in the media from time to time to describe congressional activity.  But, just what the heck is congressional “Pork” and why are we spending so much money barreling it.  I had some ideas, but they bordered on the ridiculous; so, I did what any respectable journalist would do: I googled “Congressional Pork” and the search results were alarming indeed.  It turns out that “Pork” is just a nickname for the money that gets appropriated to a Congressman's or Senator's local, constituent projects. They don’t call it “money that gets appropriated to local, constituent projects” because that might cause someone to take a closer look at the actual projects and the money being appropriated, so they just call it “Pork”.  Now, like pork itself, spending on these projects can be rewarding and necessary but can quickly become unhealthy and even downright dangerous when abused.  This begs the question: do our trustworthy Congressmen and Senators use “Pork Barrel Spending” for necessary and rewarding projects or do they abuse a flawed system and dole out millions of dollars to their local constituents in attempt to buy their votes in the next election?  Let’s take a closer look.

“Earmarks”

Congress spends money each year through the passing of 12 formal appropriations bills.  Discretionary spending in these bills is capped and openly debated.  This makes it difficult to stuff “Pork” spending into these bills.  In addition to the regular appropriations process, Congress can pass an unlimited number of “Emergency Supplemental Appropriations” bills.  These are intended to provide funding for specific emergencies such as disaster relief (Katrina), a terrorist attack (9-11) or a war (Iraq).  They are perfect for “Pork” spending in that they operate outside of the formal budget and are not subject to caps.  They are also high profile, popular bills with flashy names and tremendous public support.  Its very difficult to hold up the “Save the People Affected by Hurricane Katrina Bill” or the “Emergency Money for American Troops Bill”.  Our Congressmen know this all to well and take full advantage of these “emergencies” by loading them up with spending for their pet “Pork” projects.  The spending is covertly added to the bill as a specific “earmark”, a short provision that direct funds to a specific project in a specific location. Because of the emergency bill’s popularity and fanfare, they are often rammed through Congress without the opportunity for anyone to review the validity or necessity of the “earmarks”, and even worse than that, there is seldom any oversight as to whether or not the spending is actually used for the intended project or whether the project is actually completed. But that doesn't matter because the Congressmen rarely care about the projects themselves; they care about the votes that the money will buy.  Sure, the Congressmen claim that the projects are worthwhile and justifiable, but if this is the case, why not openly review and debate them.  Why secretly tuck them into an “emergency” spending bill. Because it's just so easy and it works so well.  Since 1994, the cost of earmarks has doubled from $23.2 billion dollars to $47.4 billion in 2005.  That is $47.4 Billion dollars of our hard earned tax payer money spent on local projects that are not debated, reviewed or even followed up on.  This money is not budgeted. It just disappears into thin air.  Now I know what your thinking, not every member of Congress slips earmarks into spending bills; there must be at least a couple who seek to curb the abuse.  Sadly, there are only a few who consistently defy the “you scratch my earmark, I’ll scratch yours” culture.

“A Flake”

One such is Republican Congressman Jeff Flake.  He recently held up a late night “Pork Roast” in the House by questioning only the most egregious of the 1300 earmarks slipped into the latest defense money bill.  The unpopular Flake angered both sides of the isle by insisting that debate be held on these earmarks.  Finally, someone with the courage to stand and fight for the tax payer, someone who can change this culture of corruption. But, alas, eager for their summer recess and perturbed that their payoffs delayed, his fellow Congressmen dug their heels deep into the pork and stood strong against Flake’s challenge by ignoring his pleas and supporting every one of the 1300 earmarks.  Including the earmarks for the seven House members currently under investigation by the Justice Department that sent our money to companies in their districts that won jobs without competitive bids or public review.  There is one last hope: President Bush has vowed to veto any Defense Spending Bill containing egregious earmarks.  Hopefully, he can withstand the pressure and do so.

Well, that's it for today.  I just thought you'd like to know this was going on.  Maybe you have a “Pork Project” you're working on and you can score some earmarks yourself.   By the way, because I know this article left both of us hungry, I’ll leave you with the Recipe for “Congressional Pork” taken from the latest emergency spending bill:

“Congressional Pork”

-a dash of $500 thousand to the Teapot Muesam in Sparta N.C.

-a dallop of $20 million for Mormon Cricket Eradication

-a pinch of $24 million for Sugar Beet Production

-a scoop of $25 million for Spinach growers

-a handful of $74 million for Peanut Storage

-a glob of $105 million for Fisheries Disaster Relief

Directions: Remove carefully from Emergency Appropriations Bill and serve cash cold on decorative voting ballots. Bon Appetit!


...more columns by Todd A. Carges