Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of H.R.3074, the Fiscal 2008 Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development (THUD), and Related Agencies Act.

CAGW found 2,007 projects worth $1.6 billion in this year’s THUD bill, compared to 2,640 projects worth $3.6 billion that were identified in the 2006 Congressional Pig Book, which was the last year that a THUD bill included earmarks.  This represents a decrease of 23 percent in the number of earmarks and a 55 percent decrease in the dollar amount.

One section of the bill alone - Economic Development Initiative (EDI) grants - has $178 million in pork spread among 741 projects.  The ostensible purpose of EDI is to increase economic development and revitalization, but it has increasingly become a perennial repository for the self-interested projects of pork-barreling members of Congress.  Here are some outrageous examples of pork that members of Congress added to the EDI portion of the THUD bill:

• $700,000 to the Chicago Parks District in Chicago, Illinois for the renovation of the historic Theatre on the Lake, added by Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.);
• $500,000 to the East Mississippi Community College-Golden Triangle for construction of a metal-working facility for job training, added by Rep. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.);
• $500,000 to the City of Bellflower, California for construction and buildout of the Los Angeles County Fire Museum, added by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.);
• $469,000 to the City of College Park, Maryland for blight removal along the Route 1 Corridor, added by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.);
• $450,000 for the Coastal Heritage Society to repair to the Georgia Central Railway Historic Paint and Coach Shops in Savannah, Georgia, added by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.);
• $301,500 for renovations to the International Peace Garden in Dunseith, N. Dakota added by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.);
• $300,000 for streetscape improvements and sidewalk furniture in the village of Ellenville, New York added by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.);
• $300,000 for an education broadcast program at the Houston Zoo, added by Reps. John Culberson (R-Texas) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas);
• $275,000 to the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts for renovation and buildout of the Berkshire Music Hall and Octagon House, added by Rep. John Olver (D-Mass.);
• $250,000 for construction of the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser, Washington, added by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.);
• $225,000 to the Bacon County Board of Commissioners in Georgia for restoration of an old school building for community use, added by Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.);
• $200,000 to complete renovations and transform the Las Vegas Post Office into a museum on local history, added by Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ;
• $200,000 for the Native Hawaiian Tropical Botanical Garden community learning center in Kalaheo, Kaua'I, added by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii);
• $200,000 to the Florida Southern College in Lakeland for construction of library to house historic documents of Frank Lloyd Wright, added by Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.);
• $200,000 to the Alpine Heritage Preservation in Thomas, West Virginia for renovation and buildout of the historic Opera House, added by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.);
• $170,000 to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum in Brooklyn, New York for renovation and construction of the museum, added by Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.);
• $150,000 to the Penobscot Theatre Company in Bangor, Maine to renovate the Bangor Opera House, added by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Rep Michael Michaud (D-Maine);
• $150,000 to the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Flushing, New York for design and construction of a visitors center, added by Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), and Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.);
• $150,000 to the City of Astoria, Oregon for planning, design and construction of the Chinese Heritage Park, added by Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.);
• $150,000 to the City of Greenville, Illinois for construction of a business incubator, added by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.);
• $150,000 for completion of construction of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras, N. Carolina, added by Rep. Walter Jones, Jr. (R-N.C.);
• $100,000 for renovations to the Wakely Resort Lodge, in Hamilton County, New York added by Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.);
• $100,000 for signage and streetscape improvements in the Los Angeles Fashion District, added by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.);
• $100,000 to develop a walking tour of Boydton, VA, added by Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.);
• $100,000 to the City of Romney, West Virginia for continued renovation and adaptive use of the Coca Cola bottling plant as a cultural and arts center, added by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.);
• $100,000 to the Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum in Greenville, Texas, for construction of a memorial and building, added by Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas);
• $100,000 to the Carlisle Regional Performing Arts Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for renovation of the Carlisle Theater, added by Rep. Todd Platts (R-Pa.); and
• $50,000 for construction of a National Mule and Packers Museum in Bishop, CA, added by Rep. McKeon.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.