RSSCAGW Uncovers Banned Earmarks in Appropriations Bills
CAGW | July 29, 2011
CAGW’s preliminary analysis this month of the House version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Act and the Senate version of the FY 2012 Military Construction Appropriations Act revealed that both chambers of Congress continue to try to circumvent the earmark moratorium. The House bill contains seven earmarks costing taxpayers $56.8 million, including $40 million for Boll Weevil eradication. However, the number of pork-barrel projects in the FY 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill fell by 96 percent compared to FY 2011, and their cost dropped by 61 percent. The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee also refrained from funding many infamous earmarks from years past, including wood utilization research, which had received $100 million since 1985, and shrimp aquaculture research, which had received $74.5 million since 1985. The Senate bill displays even greater self-control by senators, who in the past have larded the military construction and veterans affairs funding provision with dozens of earmarks for items such as chapels and fitness facilities. Nonetheless, the two earmarks CAGW discovered – $10 million for the Energy Conservation Investment Program and $6.4 million for the Whitelaw Wedge Building Addition at Fort Gordon in Georgia – are two too many. CAGW President Tom Schatz responded, “With a ballooning deficit and struggling economy, Congress should be scrutinizing every taxpayer dollar being spent instead of attempting to circumvent the current earmark moratorium.” Read more about the Senate Military Construction Appropriations Act and the House Agriculture Appropriations Act.
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