Hogs in Congress Pile on the Pork

NEWSMAX ^ | 4/8/02 | Limbacher

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

So what if there was a recession and a war going on - Congress still squandered a record $20 billion in pork this fiscal year.

"Taxpayers will be disappointed," said Thomas Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste. "Here they are, sitting around doing their taxes — a good time to be thinking what they’re getting for their money, and in this case it’s a pretty bad deal."

The three fattest hogs at the taxpayers' trough are on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. It looks as if doddering former Klansman Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., will have to surrender his "Sen. Pork" nickname to greedy Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. For the second year in a row, Alaska had the most pork, $451 million, followed by Hawaii with $353 million and West Virginia with $215 million.

Among the pet projects noted by CAGW:

$62.4 million for "commerce projects" in Alaska, including $750,000 to prevent Atlantic salmon from escaping streams and $4 million for sea lions.

"$268 million in defense projects in the state of Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, including $1 million for an alternative fuel program for the Hickman Air Force Base and $2 million for the state National Guard anti-drug program," Fox reported.

$80 million for energy and water projects in West Virginia, including $7 million for a positron emission tomography facility at West Virginia University.

$78.5 million in labor, health and welfare - oops, "human services" - projects in Iowa, home of Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee chairman Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, including $100,000 to encourage children to have fairs showing their inventions and $3 million for Iowa Communications Network.

"$23 million in agricultural projects for the state of Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Thad Cochran, R-Miss., including $800,000 for imported red fireants."

Schatz is fed up hearing congressmen whine about anti-terrorism funding requested by President Bush.

"We would not have to go looking for that money if we didn’t have all of this pork. Which is the greater priority right now in the minds of Congress: war or pork?"

[dts32041]

"We would not have to go looking for that money if we didn’t have all of this pork. Which is the greater priority right now in the minds of Congress: war or pork?"

Dumb question, everybody knows the answer pork, is king.

[Dimensio]

I'll go ahead and get this out of the way because I know from the title that someone has to do it:
Hillary?

[The Great RJ]

These are the worst abusers, but every member of Congress, in both parties, does the same thing.

We their constituants however are much to blame. For every problem we want the government to fix it for us. Whether it's a water project in South Dakota, bolstering failing farm markets in California or wiring schools for the Internet in West Virginia we look to the Federal government to do these things for us instead of finding ways to do it ourselves or doing without.

We must remember that whenever the federal government steps in to do things it costs us all money and further erodes our freedom.

[newgeezer]

"A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of Government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury."
       -- Alexander Fraser Tytler, 18th century Scottish historian

If the same proves true of a Representative Republic, say hello to the United (Socialist) States of America.

[newgeezer]

$78.5 million in labor, health and welfare - oops, "human services" - projects in Iowa, home of Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee chairman Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, including $100,000 to encourage children to have fairs showing their inventions and $3 million for Iowa Communications Network.

Of course, it's an election year for Tom "Dung heap" Harkin.

Yes, these slithering snakes took an oath to uphold the Constitution.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

You know, we could win this war if we just sent all of our congressmen and senators overseas to run the enemy nations. The war would be over with in a week.

[blackdog]

Actually it goes as you quoted, but add the rest....

"From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The Average age of the worlds great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to depandancy, from dependency back to bondage"-Lord Alexander Tyler on the fall of the Athenian republic.

Just to give you the rest of the quote in order to really depress you.

[blackdog]

In a round-about way, we already did that, been there, and bought the t-shirt as they say. Look at how many puppet dictators we have created, funded, suffered from, and then hide in embarassment. Those fella's are the product of our Foreign intelligence politicians you know. Such as Biden("that's why ride in the limo's"), Condit, Nunn,etc...

Actually, the senator I have the most respect for is D.P.Moynahan. The man knows world history better than any man I ever saw. He also said "Al Gore? Why don't the democrats run a candidate who is electable?" He was right on that one, just barely.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

Amen brother. And now, I must call it a night. Now that the new generation of hogs are taking over in Congress, I must work harder to pay the bastards next Monday.

[brat]

"everybody knows the answer pork, is king."..........Yeah, no kidding. Makes you feel real good when we're struggling to keep our heads above water! It isn't just Congress, though. Bush is certainly handing out major bucks too. N. Korea, the UN..............! Arg!

[biblewonk]

If the same proves true of a Representative Republic, say hello to the United (Socialist) States of America.

yawn