Introduction

In fiscal year (FY) 2001, appropriators worshiped at the altar of pork-barrel spending like never before. Just like the apes clawing at the mysterious monolith at the beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey, appropriators saw the mountain of money created by the budget surplus and grabbed so many of the taxpayers’ dollars that they created a new epic, 2001: A Pork Odyssey.

Members of Congress not only porked out at record levels, they also made it difficult for opponents of such spending to protest its inclusion in the appropriations bills. Some bills were brought to the floor on a limited basis. At other times members had less than 24 hours between the bill’s release from committee and the final vote. These closed-door tactics ensured that appropriators, as leaders of the spending cult in Washington, could logroll their way to a 297 percent increase in pork since 1997.

The 2001 Congressional Pig Book is cluttered with 6,333 porcine projects – a 46 percent increase over FY 2000. The final tally of $18.5 billion, a 4 percent increase over FY 2000, brings total pork identified by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) since 1991 to $119 billion.

Congress’s unrepentant use of the Treasury to fund these porcine projects confirms the need for a 12-step program to reform the pork addicts on Capitol Hill. A tough combination of budget reforms, which will make it more difficult to hide the bacon, and tax cuts, which will shut off the money supply, should help members go cold turkey (or pork free). Otherwise, the sequel to 2001: A Pork Odyssey will star the biggest porkers of all time. The top three increases in pork from FY 2000 to FY 2001 were: Treasury/Postal from $96 million to $648 million (571 percent); Foreign Operations from $86 million to $227 million (162 percent); and Interior from $332 million to $616 million (86 percent).

Alaska again led the nation with $766 per capita ($480 million), or 30 times the national average of $25. The runners up were Hawaii with $391 per capita ($474 million) and Mississippi with $236 per capita ($672 million). The common thread among the top three per-capita states is that they are represented by powerful senators and appropriators – Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Senate appropriator Daniel Inouye (DHawaii), and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.).

All the talk about meeting national priorities, reducing the debt, Social Security and Medicare reform, and fiscal restraint will mean nothing if the easy choices aren’t made first – eliminating porkbarrel spending. The false altar of pork must be demolished so fiscal sanity can once again reign in Washington.

The 433 projects, totaling $3.5 billion, in this year’s Congressional Pig Book Summary symbolize the most egregious and blatant examples of pork. As in previous years, all of the items in the Congressional Pig Book Summary meet at least one of CAGW’s seven criteria, but most satisfy at least two:

• Requested by only one chamber of Congress;
• Not specifically authorized;
• Not competitively awarded;
• Not requested by the President;
• Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding;
• Not the subject of congressional hearings; or
• Serves only a local or special interest.

I. Agriculture

The 2001 Congressional Pig Book Summary starts out with a smorgasbord of pork in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill. As in past years, appropriators used the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) special research grants program to earmark their pet research projects, even though the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) frowns on the practice of funding grants that cater to only one state or commodity. From advanced genetic technologies in Kentucky to wool research in Montana, Texas, and Wyoming, members of Congress continued their unabashed earmarking in the hopes that these morsels would help them curry favor back home. The tally for special research grants for FY 2001 was $85 million, even though USDA officials only requested $6 million. Total agriculture pork in FY 2001 was $204 million, or 79 percent more than in FY 2000.

$5,786,000 for wood utilization research (Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Mich., Minn., Miss., N.C., Ore., and Tenn.). Apparently, the many mysteries of wood still elude federal researchers. Since 1985, $62 million has been sapped from the taxpayers for this research. $4,177,000 for shrimp aquaculture research (Ariz., Hawaii, Mass., Miss., S.C., and Texas). Since 1985, $49 million has been appropriated for this research, which (among other obvious questions) has yet to determine why shrimp are being examined in the arid, landlocked state of Arizona.

$3,000,000 for Pierce’s Disease research. Although the American Vineyard Foundation, the Wine Institute, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture have recently allocated money to fight this grape killer, California appropriators secured $3 million for this research. Despite the “chicken little” predictions of decimated crops and widespread diseased grapes, wine entrepreneurs are toasting the taxpayers’ largesse while continuing to invest millions of dollars into vineyard-related land and infrastructure in southern California (the epicenter of this disease).

$750,000 added by the Senate for aquaculture product and marketing development in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.). Not only did this research not receive any matching non-federal funds, it was scheduled to be completed in 2000. Since 1998, $2,850,000 has been appropriated for this research.

$645,000 added by the Senate for alternative salmon products in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Since 1998, $1.9 million has been approved for this research, with a meager $50,000 contributed by the private sector.

$500,000 for peanut allergy reduction research in Alabama. In November 1998, Senate appropriator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) released a statement opposing federal involvement in peanut allergy concerns, calling them “overreaching,” and precisely what makes Americans question the government’s “common sense.” For FY 2001, Sen. Shelby abandoned his own common sense by helping to earmark $500,000 for more peanut allergy research.

$475,000 added in conference for Satsuma Orange research in the state of Senate appropriator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and House appropriators Sonny Callahan (R-Ala.), Robert Aderholdt (R-Ala.), and Robert Cramer (D-Ala.). This nearly seedless orange is a descendant of the mandarin orange, which was reserved for the privileged class of China. The research was funded by the new privileged class, House and Senate appropriators.

$393,000 added by the House for sustainable agriculture research in California. As of March 8, 2000, USDA had requested but not received a grant proposal from any university; no national or local need had been established; no stated goals had been written; and no particular university had been identified to carry out the research. This is the second year of funding for this ephemeral research.

$250,000 for Vidalia onion research in the state of House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Jack Kingston (R-Ga.). In the past, money has been used for “pungency testing” and is now supposed to go toward onion disease research. Vidalia onions are only grown in Vidalia, Georgia, which happens to be in Rep. Kingston’s district, so the national application of the disease research is highly questionable. Since 1998, $534,000 has been appropriated for this program, enough to bring tears to the eyes of taxpayers everywhere.

$198,000 added by the House for tropical aquaculture. According to USDA testimony, this research will be geared toward helping the ornamental fish industry in Florida.

The following earmarks show that leadership has its privileges: $10,690,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), including: $5,000,000 for an insect-rearing laboratory; $1,000,000 for advanced spatial technologies; $800,000 for the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center; and $305,000 for seafood and aquaculture harvesting, processing and marketing.

$6,460,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Conrad Burns (R-Mont.): $5,300,000 for the Fort Keogh laboratory in Miles City; $332,000 for value-added product development from agricultural resources; and $332,000 for wheat sawfly research. $6,008,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), including: $5,000,000 for the U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center; $250,000 for floriculture research; and $131,000 for agricultural diversification. $4,502,000 added by the House for projects in the state of House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), including: $1,500,000 for greenhouse and hydroponics research; $761,000 for the Center for Innovative Food Technology; $475,000 for sustainable agriculture development; and $246,000 for income enhancement demonstration.

$2,700,000 added by the House for projects in the state of House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Joe Skeen (R-N.M.): $1,800,000 million for rangeland resource management and $900,000 for cotton ginning research in Las Cruces.

When House and Senate appropriators met to determine funding for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), all requested projects in each bill were funded. When there was a project included in both bills at different levels, the conferees accepted the higher level, instead of splitting the difference.

Here are some examples of this free-for-all:

$2,000,000 added by the Senate for small farms in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.).

$500,000 added by the Senate for pasture systems and watershed management in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).

$300,000 added by the House for biological controls at Florida A&M University in the district of House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member, and former farmer, F. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.).

$300,000 added by the Senate for integrated farming systems in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.).

$250,000 added by the Senate for mineral nutrients research in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.).

$200,000 added by the House for barley food health benefits research.

$114,000 added by the House for three research projects at the ARS research facility in Salinas, Calif., in the district of House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Sam Farr (DCalif.). This is “Farr” and away an abuse of power.

Sometimes Congress steps into areas of research that should have been resolved long ago, several of which don’t pass the smell test. $500,000 for swine waste management in the district of House appropriator David Price (D-N.C.). Since 1997, $2 million has been appropriated for this research, which many believe to be based in Washington, D.C.

$496,000 added by the Senate for agriculture waste utilization in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.). Since 1998, $1.5 million has been appropriated for this research.

$300,000 added by the House for manure management in the district of House appropriator James Clyburn (D-S.C.).

$275,000 for animal waste management in Oklahoma in the district of House Agriculture Committee member, and former farmer and rancher, Frank Lucas (R-Okla.). Since 1998, $1 million has been appropriated for this research.

II. Commerce, Justice, State

The Commerce/Justice/State Appropriations (CJS) Bill is the potpourri pot of the pork-barreling process. Appropriators secured funding for projects ranging from Stellar sea lion recovery and methamphetamine eradication to economic development for private organizations. All of this adds up to bad news for taxpayers. Total CJS pork for FY 2001 was $771.9 million, up 44 percent from $534.4 million last year.

$60,454,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $18,000,000 for construction at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facilities in Alaska; $4,350,000 for Stellar sea lion recovery; $2,000,000 for the Alaska Native Justice Center; $1,500,000 to develop plans to establish a National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (which is sure to cost taxpayers more in the years to come); $1,000,000 for information collection and analysis on the Bering Sea Crab; and $100,000 for weather radio transmitters in Barrow. The booty Sen. Stevens grabbed this year is 177 percent more than his FY 2000 haul of $21.8 million.

$40,000,000 added by the Senate to implement the 1999 Pacific Salmon Treaty. Of this allocation, $20 million was earmarked in conference for the Department of Fish and Wildlife in the state of then-Senate appropriator Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) and current Senate appropriator Patty Murray (D-Wash.). The remaining $20 million will be divided evenly between the Northern Boundary Fund and the Southern Boundary Fund.

$35,225,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), including: $18,000,000, or one half of the National Institute for Justice’s counterterrorism research and development budget, for a research project at the Dartmouth Institute for Security Studies; $5,800,000 for the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology at the University of New Hampshire; $3,500,000 for the Consolidated Advanced Technologies for Law Enforcement Program at the University of New Hampshire; and $1,500,000 for the New Hampshire Safety Department’s Operation Streetsweeper. Each of these projects received similar allocations in FY 2000.

$22,305,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations subcommittee member Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), including: $15,000,000 for an education and development initiative to promote criminal justice excellence at the University of Eastern Kentucky and the University of Kentucky; $2,505,000 for child advocacy centers; and $1,800,000 for the Center of Rural Law Enforcement Technology and Training in Hazard.

$18,263,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Ernest “Fritz” Hollings (D-S.C.), including: $5,000,000 for construction at the Charleston Border Patrol Academy; $3,000,000 for research on the Charleston Bump, an offshore bottom feature that attracts a large number of fish (we know the bump is a popular dance, but why is the government teaching fish how to do it); $2,500,000 for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s forensic laboratory; and $1,122,000 for security equipment at the Columbia Courthouse.

$13,740,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Robert Bennett (R-Utah), including: $5,000,000 for the Utah Communications Agency Network for enhancements and upgrades of security and communications for law enforcement at the 2002 Winter Olympics; $3,000,000 for the Utah Olympic Public Safety Command to implement the public safety master plan for the 2002 Winter Olympics; and $590,000 for the University of Utah to make local warnings and forecasts for the 2002 Winter Olympics (it’s probably going to snow).

$13,500,000 added by the Senate for the Center for Cultural Exchange East and West, more commonly known as the East-West Center, in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations subcommittee member Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii). The East- West Center sponsors workshops on topics ranging from community-based forestry to premarital sex, and holds a biannual international fair with music, dance, crafts and games. The program has received approximately $200 million from the Department of State in the last 10 years. The House Committee refused funding for the third year in a row, explaining that the Center “has embarked on a plan to increase private contributions” and should not “receive a direct subsidy” from the government.

$7,291,000 added by the Senate in the state of Senate appropriator Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), including: $3,000,000 for communications infrastructure equipment in Milwaukee; $1,500,000 for the Milwaukee Safe and Sound program; $541,000 for the Milwaukee Schools’ Summer Stars program; and $375,000 for the Waukesha (a suburb of Milwaukee) Police Department to address school resource officer requirements.

$6,000,000 added by the Senate for forensics programs in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.): $4,000,000 for the West Virginia University Forensic Identification program and $2,000,000 for the Marshall University Forensic Science program.

$5,863,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), including: $900,000 for patrol car mobile data terminals in Billings; $658,000 for courthouse security equipment in Helena; and $100,000 for the Montana State University International Business Exchange.

$4,100,000 added by the House for the adjoining districts of House Commerce Appropriations subcommittee members Julian Dixon (D-Calif.) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), including: $2,000,000 for L.A.’s Best Youth program; $600,000 for a computer-aided dispatch and records management system for the Bells Garden Police Department; and $500,000 for the Culver City Juvenile Crime Diversion initiative.

$1,400,000 added by the Senate for the North/South Center in Florida. For the third year in a row, the House Committee did not recommend funding for the center. Prior to 1991, the Center operated on private funding, competing and receiving projectspecific federal grants. Since it began to receive federal funding in 1991, the Center has secured more than $43 million.

$1,000,000 added for the Career Education Center at the West Farms Alternative High School in the district of House Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jose Serrano (DN. Y.). The money will be used to expand college preparatory, internship, computer and high school equivalency diploma programs.

$500,000 added in conference for the National Institute of Corrections to study whether the location of illegal alien holding facilities along the southern border contributes to the illegal alien problem in the United States.

$500,000 added by Senate for the Irish Institute in Boston to develop a master plan for business, academic and citizen exchanges between Ireland and the United States.

$450,000 added by the Senate for Pacific ornamental tropical fish research.

$250,000 added by the Senate for base resources at the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center, named for Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). Sen. Cochran liked seeing his name in lights so much he added $800,000 for the Center in the FY 2001 Agriculture Appropriations Bill as well.

$250,000 added in conference for culinary education training for at-risk youth in Miami/Dade in the district of House appropriator Carrie Meek (D-Fla.).

III. Defense

This past year has demonstrated to Americans that national defense is of critical importance. From containing Middle East terrorist threats to maintaining soldier morale, defense spending meets myriad essential needs. But there is another disconcerting obstacle to our national security: congressional appropriators who want to use precious defense funds for their own pet projects. Department of Defense (DOD) funding should be about spending money wisely to protect the interests of the entire United States, rather than being relegated to a grab bag of congressional pork goodies. Total defense pork for FY 2001 was $9.6 billion, or 7 percent more than last year’s total of $8.9 billion.

$460,000,000 added by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (RMiss.) for an Amphibious Assault Ship. In a move that is quickly becoming a tradition in Washington (the third time in four years), Sen. Lott secured funding for this ship without a Pentagon or House request. Sen. Lott’s fondness for building ships may stem from the fact that the shipyard where it will be built (Ingall’s Shipyard) is literally within view of his backyard in Pascagoula.

$334,760,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Daniel Inouye (DHawaii), including: $41,000,000 for the Pearl Harbor Shipyard; $35,000,000 for the Kaho’olawe Island Conveyance Fund; $15,000,000 for Hawaiian Health Care; $12,000,000 for a shipyard apprentice program; $10,000,000 for the Pacific Disaster Center; $5,000,000 for the Center for Excellence for Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance (apparently, the Center for Mediocrity received no funding this year); and $2,500,000 for marijuana eradication. Even though it was the last state admitted into the union, Hawaii is among the first in line at the defense trough.

$86,400,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $27,500,000 for Northern Edge activities; $12,000,000 for the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP); and $10,000,000 for the Department of Transportation to realign railroad tracks at the Elemendorf Air Force Base. Initially designed to capture energy from the aurora borealis (northern lights), HAARP is now being configured to heat up the ionosphere to improve military communications. Instead, HAARP is heating up the ire of many taxpayers. Web surfers can check out <www.haarp.alaska.edu> to see how their tax dollars are being spent. Since 1995, CAGW has identified $70 million appropriated for HAARP.

$12,500,000 added for the National Automotive Center (NAC) in Warren, Mich. One of the research activities conducted by NAC involves a smart truck about which Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) muses whether or not “the intellect of this truck will be such that it will not only be capable of heating up a burrito, but will also be able to perform advanced calculus while quoting Kirkegaard.”

A yearly custom in the DOD Appropriations Bill is to insert nondefense related items:

$12,000,000 added by the Senate for the Legacy program. These funds are primarily used to preserve sunken Civil War ships. $8,500,000 for the Gallo Center for Alcoholism Research.

$5,000,000 added by the House for Hispanic serving institutions.

$5,000,000 added by the Senate for special education support.

$4,000,000 added by the House for dental research.

$4,000,000 for a large millimeter telescope. This telescope, a joint project between the United States and Mexico, will help researchers study the formation of stars and galaxies billions of years ago and how stars are forming in our galaxy right now. A fancy telescope isn’t needed to see the black hole into which our defense dollars are disappearing.

$1,800,000 added by the House for the National Center for Industrial Competitiveness (NCIC) in Dayton, Ohio. According to its website, NCIC was formed “as an innovative not-for-profit corporation to respond to the economic development needs of the Great Lakes Region.” There is no mention of defense-related projects anywhere on the website.

$1,500,000 added by the House for chronic fatigue research conducted by the Army.

$1,150,000 for math teacher leadership and math program set skill kits. The first lesson taught should be that pork-barrel spending and government waste have added up to a $5.7 trillion national debt.

$1,000,000 added by the House for the Chabot Observatory through the Air Force. News reports concerning this $76 million eye-to-the-sky laud its scientific prowess and physical grandeur. There is no mention of the defense implications of this telescope. The Observatory’s west building is named after former Rep. Ronald Dellums (D-Calif.), which solves one deep space mystery – how the observatory secured federal funding.

$1,000,000 added in conference for the National Flag Foundation in Pittsburgh, in the state of Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). The goal of this organization is “to inspire people everywhere, but especially young people, to be more dedicated, responsible citizens and have a greater respect for the flag,” according to the foundation’s director. Respect for the flag and the country should start with our tax dollars.

$1,000,000 added in conference for the Community Hospital Telehealth Consortium.

$500,000 added by the House for minority aviation training at the William Lehman Aviation Center at Florida Memorial College in the district of House appropriator Carrie Meek (D-Fla.). According to a February 2000 press release by Rep. Meek and Florida Memorial College, this center will help develop minority aviators and skilled aviation workers for the military and private sector. According to school officials, the federal funds will provide scholarships for tuition, room, and board to 12 students.

That’s $41,000 per year per student, making Florida Memorial College more expensive than Harvard, Yale, or any other undergraduate university. When exactly did the Department of Defense merge with the Department of Education?

IV. District of Columbia

Although last year’s District of Columbia (D.C.) Appropriations Bill was pork-free, appropriators could not be expected to hold off for long. And they did not. This year, $15.2 million in pork was found in the D.C. Appropriations Bill. There were 18 projects, twice the number found in the last six D.C. appropriations bills combined.

Included in the unprecedented number of pork projects were: $3,450,000 added by the Senate for brownfield remediation at Poplar Point. President Clinton requested $10 million for this project, but the House denied funding because “the plan presented fails to provide any specific information as to the phases of the project, the start and completion dates and any detailed goals.” Sounds like a recipe for a project going nowhere, except perhaps back to the pork barrel.

$500,000 added by the House for a payment to the National Arboretum for the design, construction and maintenance of a trash rack system at the Hickey Run stormwater outfall. The aim of this new system is to mitigate the environmental harm caused by trash that flows through the National Arboretum via the Hickey Run Watershed and into the Anacostia River.

$200,000 added by the House to study and design a system for simplifying the administration of personnel policies, including payroll policies, for District government employees.

V. Energy and Water

Although FY 2000 Energy and Water Appropriations fell nearly $300 million from its FY 1999 level, appropriators recovered their passion for pork during the second session of the 106th Congress. Total pork spending rose from $569 million in FY 2000 to $880 million in FY 2001, a 55 percent increase. Somewhat more startling is that although Energy and Water subcommittee members made up only 6 percent of the Congress, their districts and states received at least 33 percent of the Energy and Water pork for FY 2001. Coincidence? CAGW thinks not. That hypothesis is further substantiated by the fact that there are a few members who receive funding for the same projects year after year after year….

Energy and Water repeat offenders included:

$1,500,000 for projects in the district of House Energy and Water Subcommittee Ranking Member Peter J. Viclosky (D-Ind.). Rep. Viclosky secured $1,000,000 for Indiana Shoreline erosion in FY 2001, which has received $8,440,000 in funding since 1996. Another one of Rep. Viclosky’s pet projects, the Burns Waterway Harbor, received $500,000 above the budget requests in both FY 2001 and FY 2000.

$1,000,000 added for Army Corps of Engineers construction in the Greenbrier River Basin in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.). One resident of Marlinton said “study after study” has been done but the place “still looks like Haiti,” and his community has not seen any construction despite the fact that a total of $4.8 million has been secured for the project since 1997.

$600,000 added in conference for Lake Waco in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Chet Edwards (R-Texas). Lake Waco has received $4.7 million in the last three years.

$350,000 added by the House for Solana Beach, in the district of House Energy and Water Subcommittee Chairman Ron Packard (R-Calif.). This figure represents a 250 percent increase from the $100,000 spent in FY 2000 for Solana Beach.

Four states – Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada and New Mexico – received a combined total of $134.5 million, or more than 15 percent of FY 2001 Energy and Water pork. The states have at least one thing in common – they are all represented by senators who sit on the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee.

$50,081,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Thad Cochran (RMiss.), including: $15,000,000 for a demonstration erosion control program in the Yazoo Basin; $6,900,000 for the operation and maintenance of Pascagoula Harbor; $4,300,000 for flood control maintenance at Big Sunflower River; and $1,000,000 for flood control construction at Big Sunflower River.

$38,148,000 for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), including: $15,100,000 for construction on the Kentucky Lock and Dam Project on the Tennessee River and $600,000 for the University of Louisville to design bioreactors for production of fuels and chemicals for ethanol production. The total take was 175 percent above FY 2000.

$25,300,000 for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Harry Reid (DNev.), including: $4,000,000 for a facility that will demonstrate thermal depolymerization technology and $2,500,000 to transfer the Petawatt Laser from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to the University of Nevada at Reno. (See below for more of Sen. Reid’s “sound” fiscal investments.)

$20,938,000 for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), including: $2,000,000 for a science and technology facility at New Mexico Highlands University; $1,300,000 for New Mexico Tech to trace emissions resulting from energy consumption; and $100,000 to study the causes of sediment buildup at Santa Cruz dam. Now that’s a dam waste!

Other pork projects for FY 2001 include:

$30,000,000 added by the Senate for the Denali Commission in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Sen. Stevens surpassed the administration’s $20 million budget request by $10 million, even though the House did not request funding for the second consecutive year. $10,400,000 added by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for academic institutions in his state, including four studies at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. One $3,000,000 study is to be used for “research and development of technologies for economic and environmentally sound refinement of spent nuclear fuel.” Considering the way in which he throws around tax dollars, Sen. Reid’s actions cannot be considered economically sound.

$9,040,000 added in the spirit of bipartisanship by then-Senate Energy and Water subcommittee member Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) and current Senate appropriator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in their home state, including: $2,750,000 for rehabilitation work on the North Jetty of the Grays Harbor navigation project; $2,000,000 for the Inland Natural Resources Center at Gonzaga University; and $100,000 to determine if federal assumption of maintenance of Lake Wallula is economically justifiable.

$6,791,000 for projects in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Rodney Frelinghuysen (RN. J.). Although one former staff member of the Energy and Water subcommittee admitted that Army Corps of Engineers investigations serve political interests rather than legitimate water concerns, Rep. Frelinghuysen nabbed almost $1 million for investigations at Great Egg Harbor Inlet, Brigantine Inlet and Barnegat Inlet.

$3,950,000 added for Devil’s Lake in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.). With the most expensive Army Corps of Engineers investigation, Sen. Dorgan is the perfect Devil’s (Lake) advocate. $3,770,000 for six projects in the state of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), including: $1,000,000 for the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System; $500,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers investigation at James River; $90,000 for the operation and maintenance of Fort Randall Dam; and $80,000 for the operation and maintenance of Big Bend Dam.

$3,210,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), including: $1,500,000 for the Fort Peck Rural County Water system; $435,000 for the Fort Peck Dry Prairie Rural Water System; and $325,000 for the Canyon Ferry Reservoir. Sen. Burns said, “Water is one of Montana’s most precious commodities, and this bill will help us use and distribute it wisely.” If only our tax dollars were treated with such respect. $2,500,000 added in conference in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (DW. Va.) for a new positron tomography facility.

$1,000,000 added by the Senate for Columbia and Snake River Salmon Recovery in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Larry Craig (R-Idaho). This allocation is to be used to acquire water to increase streamflows. A million dollars for water? Must be Evian. $1,000,000 added in conference for the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Ernest “Fritz” Hollings (D-S.C.), for whom the center was named.

$150,000 added by the House in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Sonny Callahan (RAla.) for Mobile area digital mapping. This money will allow the Army Corps of Engineers to develop criteria for a Comprehensive Geographic Information Systems Database of the Mobile area. With some luck, maybe the new system can find out where our tax dollars have gone.

VI. Foreign Operations

The Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill usually contains the same few special interest items year after year, such as the International Fund for Ireland and the Russian Far East program. But breaking pork-barrel records requires the full use of every appropriations bill. The FY 2001 Foreign Operations Bill contained $227 million in pork, a 162 percent increase over FY 2000’s $86.7 million haul.

Repeat offenders include:

$25,000,000 added by the House for the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) in support of the Anglo-Irish Accord. This U.S. contribution to the fund is to be spent on “those projects that hold the greatest potential for job creation and equal opportunity for the Irish people.” Such projects have included building a replica of the Jeanie Johnston (a Canadian ship that once ferried famine victims across the Atlantic) and a national water sports center to be used for coaching top-level athletes. Through war and peace, rain and shine, deficits and surpluses, IFI continues to get funded. Since 1986, $371 million has been appropriated for this program. $20,000,000 added by the Senate for the Russian Far East program. This corporate welfare giveaway will help American firms with expertise in primary industries, including natural resource development, telecommunications, basic infrastructure, finance, and consumer goods, expand their markets to the Russian Far East. The program also received $20 million in FY 2000.

$500,000 added by the Senate for the U.S. Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) to provide tuition-free communications and broadcast training to professionals from around the world. Sponsorship of such training by multinational telecommunications firms raises questions about the need for any government funding of this nonprofit organization. USTTI received an identical allocation in FY 2000.

Other projects include:

$3,000,000 added in conference in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) for the University of Alaska to strengthen the economy, develop market-driven systems and improve social conditions in the Chukotka region of the Russian Far East.

$2,000,000 added by the House for in the district of House appropriator Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) to fund a distance-learning program at Florida State University in Tallahassee to teach basic legal principles to students and professionals in Eastern Europe. $2,000,000 added by the Senate in the state of Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for Western Kentucky University to give its 833 print and broadcast journalism students hands-on field training in foreign countries. The committee wrote that it was “concerned about the success and sustainability of independent, non-state controlled media.”

$400,000 added in conference for the Cochran Fellowship Program to provide U.S.-based, non-academic training that will acquaint Russian farmers with American agricultural practices. The program was established by, and named for, Senate appropriator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) in 1984.

VII. Interior

From the snow-white beaches of California to the snow-capped mountains of New England, and all points in between, preserving America’s beauty is no easy task. The Interior Appropriations Bill attempts to address the many diverse interests of the country. Unfortunately, year after year, congressional appropriators get bogged down in funding projects that do little to preserve the nation’s natural splendor. This past year was particularly egregious, with Congress stuffing $617 million worth of pork in the bill, or 85 percent more than last year’s total of $332 million.

$57,108,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $11,051,000 for an Alaska subsistence program through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; $5,000,000 for the Southeast Alaska Economic Disaster Fund; $1,250,000 for Aleutian Pribilof church repairs; $1,130,000 for a wood utilization laboratory in Sitka; $300,000 for the Point Retreat Lighthouse; $250,000 for the United Fishermen of Alaska educational program; and $176,000 for the Reindeer Herder’s Association. We know who’s been naughty, not nice.

$10,000,000 added in conference for the Lincoln Library in the district of House appropriator Ray LaHood (R-Ill.). This project was initially proposed as a $40 million project with no federal involvement. The price tag has rocketed to $120 million with a substantial federal role. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) has criticized the planning of the project, stating that, “without proper controls, [the Lincoln Library] has the potential of winding up as another bonanza for a bundle of big-dollar political contributors from both sides.”

$10,000,000 added in conference for the Palace of the Governors by Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). The money will be used to show the glory of America by housing such artifacts as a clock that was shot down during Pancho Villa’s raid on the United States.

$6,312,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), including: $2,000,000 for land acquisition at the Green Mountain National Forest; $1,512,000 for construction at the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge; $950,000 for the Barre Heritage Museum; $200,000 for the Monitor Barns project; and $175,000 for the Wheeler Block Building.

$5,270,000 added for projects in the district of House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member David Obey (DWisc.), including: $2,500,000 for land acquisition at the Wisconsin Wild Waterways; $600,000 for rehabilitation of a lighthouse on the Apostle Islands; and $500,000 for the Ashland Depot.

$5,250,000 added by the Senate for an extra dormitory at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (DW. Va.). Not content with the budget request, Sen. Byrd earmarked more money for the fourth dormitory at this facility, which is more like a resort, complete with a state-of-the-art workout facility, day care services, and lodges with fireplaces and living rooms. The only people “roughing it” at NCTC are the taxpayers.

$2,765,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Judd Gregg (RN. H.), including: $1,400,000 for Ossippee Mountain conservation easement; $600,000 for Hubbard Brook; and $465,000 for St. Gaudens Memorial.

$2,000,000 added by Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. According to the senator’s press release, “this 1,200 mile footpath will explore some of the world’s finest examples of glacial features.” It looks as if the taxpayers are getting the cold shoulder.

$1,500,000 added by the Senate for the Vulcan Monument in Birmingham, Alabama, in the state of Senate appropriator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). This statue was built in 1903 to represent Alabama at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. After the World’s Fair, it was moved back to Birmingham as a tribute to the steel industry. The city has started an aggressive local fundraising campaign expected to bring in $10 million to refurbish the statue. This man of steel needs no help from the man of steal, Sen. Shelby. $1,400,000 added for projects in the district of House Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Charles Taylor (R-N.C.), including: $680,000 for Cradle of Forestry projects; $600,000 for U.S. Forest Service capital improvements at Fontana Lake in the Nantahela National Forest; and $10,000 for a Graham County economic plan.

$1,000,000 added in conference for the Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, New York. According to press reports in New York, renovation of this house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright could boost local tourism by $100 million per year.

$779,000 added in conference for a visitors center on Cumberland Island in the district of House Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Jack Kingston (R-Ga.). This serene island off the coast of southern Georgia has everything for the vacation enthusiast, ranging from the spirit of adventure by backpacking to a luxurious $290/night bed-and-breakfast. The eternal question remains, why are federal tax dollars being spent on a local tourist destination?

$500,000 added by the House for the National First Ladies Library in Canton in the district of House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ralph Regula (R-Ohio). One of the features of this new Ohio attraction is a male tour guide who dresses up as Helen Taft and gives tours to senior citizens.

$300,000 added in conference by House Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) for the Old Dutch Church National Historic Site in Kingston.

$250,000 added in conference for the Rice Museum in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Ernest “Fritz” Hollings (D-S.C.). Exhibits include a history of the rise and fall of rice cultivation on coastal plantations. “In moody dioramas, the Rice Museum has renderings of bobolinks (also called rice birds; they were shooed with clanging pots and pans),” according to the San Diego Union Tribune.

$110,000 added by the Senate for the Museo de las Americas in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Ben “Nighthorse” Campbell (R-Colo.). In March 2000, the Denver Post noted that this museum had greatly boosted the growth of Santa Fe Drive in downtown Denver. To say thank you, local entrepreneurs regularly attend black-tie fundraisers for the museum, appropriately raising money for this very local project.

VIII. Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor/HHS)

With just two weeks to go before the November 2000 election, members of Congress paid more attention to getting out of town than protecting the taxpayers. As the Senate prepared to pass the Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which contained the Labor/HHS bill and three other appropriations measures, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), “Congratulations, and I look forward to knowing what is all in that bill.” Now that’s responsible governing. Not only were the details of the Omnibus bill obscured from members when they voted, but the official public report was not available until after the 107th Congress was sworn in. The final bill was hefty reading. While total Labor/HHS pork rose only 4 percent from $1.01 billion last year to $1.054 billion for FY 2001, the number of projects grew 149 percent from 405 last year to 1,009 this year. Of those, 715, or 71 percent, were added in conference.

$226,224,000 added in conference for the construction and renovation of “health care and other facilities.” The House did not request any funding, while the Senate requested only $10 million. In conference committee negotiations, appropriators not only tacked on an additional $216,224,000 to the Senate request, but they also compiled a list of health care facilities that are to receive a piece of this pork pie. There were no specific allocations in this list, but of the 208 health care facilities included, 119 are in states that have an appropriator on either the House or Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee. That means that 7 percent of Congress (the 30 House and Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee members) represented more than 57 percent of the facilities on this list. That’s hazardous to the taxpayers’ health.

$61,566,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $5,550,000 for seven grants to the University of Alaska; $4,893,000 for five grants to the Galena School District; $4,427,000 for five grants to the Alaska Federation of Natives; $2,132,000 for two grants to the Yukon/Kushokwim Corporation; $1,500,000 for two grants to the Alaska Native Heritage Center; and $1,200,000 for two grants to the Cook Inlet Tribal Council.

These organizations were not the only ones to receive more than one gift from Sen. Stevens. The Denali Commission received $10 million in the Labor/HHS Appropriations Bill to add to the $30 million it received in the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill.

$42,397,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and House Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee members Randy Cunningham (R-Calif.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), including: $1,704,000 for the Ocean Education Center at Dana Point; $921,000 for the Community Arts Partnership at the California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita; $850,000 for music education at the GRAMMY Foundation in Santa Monica; $547,000 for the Riverside Community College District School of Arts; and $250,000 for the American Film Institute for a media literacy project with the Los Angeles County School District.

$33,346,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and House appropriators John Peterson (R-Pa.) and John Murtha (DPa.), including: $925,000 for the Please Touch Museum; $850,000 for the Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College to expand arts education; $425,000 for the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University to utilize robots for distance learning; $250,000 for the Opera Company of Philadelphia for arts education; and $150,000 for arts education at the Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet.

$30,222,000 added for projects in the state of Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Harkin (DIowa) and House appropriator Tom Latham (R-Iowa), including: $9,000,000 for the continuation of the Iowa public school facilities repair demonstration project (which received $10 million last year); $4,000,000 for the continuation and expansion of the Iowa Communication Network statewide fiber optic demonstration project (which has received $16 million since 1999); and $500,000 for Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids and ACT, Inc., for workforce skills development.

$24,508,000 added for projects in the state of Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Kay Bailey Hutchison (RTexas) and House Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Henry Bonilla (R-Texas), including: $961,000 for the Institute for Healthy Aging at Texas Tech University in Lubbock and $723,000 for the Early Childhood Development Center at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi. The $24.5 million lassoed for Texas in this year’s Labor/HHS Appropriations bill is a whopping 553 percent more than the $3.75 million corraled in FY 2000. Yee haw!

$23,563,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Daniel K. Inouye (DHawaii), including: $5,000,000 for the education of Native Hawaiians; $4,000,000 for the University of Hawaii for education opportunities; and $350,000 for Molokai General Hospital.

$16,146,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and House Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), including: $1,000,000 for Delta State University to improve the quality of education; $808,000 for Tougaloo College to expand math and science programs; $461,000 for the Grenada Lake Medical Center for a demonstration project on physical fitness in rural areas; and $461,000 for the Mississippi Writing/Thinking Institute at Mississippi State University.

$13,570,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Herb Kohl (DWisc.) and House Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member David Obey (D-Wisc.), including: $1,300,000 for an after school program in the Wausau School District; $921,000 for Space Education Initiatives, Inc. in Green Bay; and $200,000 for Chippewa Valley Technical College to train health professionals.

$9,033,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Appropriator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), including: $1,900,000 for a model education and training program at the North Country Career Center in Newport; $1,000,000 for the Robert T. Stafford Center at Castleton State College for the support and study of the community; and $213,000 for the World Learning School of International Training in Brattleboro.

$6,996,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Ernest “Fritz” Hollings (DS. C.) and House appropriator James Clyburn (D-S.C.), including: $2,000,000 for South Carolina Education Television in Columbia; $1,318,000 for the Center for Excellence in Rural Health at Voorhees College; and $43,000 for the Sumter County Library.

$2,600,000 added by the Senate in the state of Senate Appropriations committee member Christopher “Kit” Bond (RMo.) to restore the historic St. Vincent’s Seminary at Southeast Missouri State University. Perhaps Sen. Bond is looking for divine intervention to help him overcome his addiction to pork.

$944,000 added in conference in the district of House Appropriations committee member Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), including $921,000 to be divided equally between all 14 county boards of education in his district.

$900,000 added in conference in the state of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) for the Intertribal Bison Cooperative, which seeks to restore and preserve bison on tribal lands. Sen. Daschle should concentrate on preserving tax dollars.

$700,000 added in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Larry Craig (R-Idaho) for the University of Idaho Institute for the Historic Study of Jazz in Moscow for cataloging, digitalization, development, and preservation of an online database. Sounds more like the taxpayer blues than jazz.

$461,000 added in conference for the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission created by Congress to study ways in which the federal government could honor Abraham Lincoln on the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2009. Senate appropriator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) is a member of the commission. The commission has plenty of time to come up with good ideas — and now it has plenty of money.

$300,000 added in conference in the state of Senate Appropriations committee member Robert Bennett (R-Utah) for the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee for a national arts and education model for the 2002 Olympic Games.

IX. Legislative Branch

The appropriations process in FY 2001 was such a mess that appropriators even filled the usually pristine Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill with pork. Legislative appropriations have been the congressional equivalent of a kosher bill, pork free, for the last two years, but FY 2001 pork tallied $25 million.

Here are a few examples:

$10,000,000 added in conference for the Russian Leadership Program. Three thousand Russian political, business and community leaders flew to the United States as part of this program in September 1999 to participate in activities such as a visit to the Festival Flea Market in Florida, a trip to the Coors brewery in Colorado, and a swing dance. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) hopes that this intercultural exchange program for Russian leaders will eventually become a permanent appropriation of up to $25 million. Nyet! $5,957,800 added in conference for Hands Across America. Their hands are unfortunately across, and in, our wallets.

$4,300,000 added in conference for a high-speed data transmission line between the Library of Congress and education facilities, libraries or networks serving western North Carolina, which happens to be in the district of House Legislative Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Charles Taylor (R-N.C.).

X. Military Construction

Congressional appropriators did not use much restraint during the FY 2001 appropriations process. One area that was subjected to fiscal discipline was the Military Construction Appropriations Bill. Total pork for FY 2001 was $1.42 billion, or 58 percent less than the FY 2000 total of $3.45 billion. Still, appropriators did manage to use their positions on the committee and subcommittee to circumvent the proper process to fund their parochial projects. Instead of a full-fledged pork free-for-all, this appropriations bill was a semi-civilized tea party with bacon strips.

$75,996,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $25,000,000 for a joint mobility complex at Eielson Air Force Base; $24,000,000 for family housing at Fort Wainwright; $7,666,000 for a child development center at Elmendorf Air Force Base; and $900,000 for a biathlon live fire course at Fort Wainwright.

$45,126,000 added for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and House Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), including: $20,700,000 for family housing at the Gulfport Naval Construction Battalion Center; $6,950,000 for the warfighting center at the Stennis Space Center; and $1,400,000 for channel dredging at Pascagoula Naval Station. Apparently, they have to make the channel deeper to fit Sen. Trent Lott’s new ship (see p. 12).

$16,822,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), including: $4,916,000 for a readiness center for the Bozeman Air National Guard; $3,517,000 to convert a commercial gate at Malmstrom Air Force Base; $1,200,000 for infrastructure improvements for the Air National Guard at Fort Harrison; and $100,000 for an entry way/guard facility for the Air National Guard at Fort Harrison.

$16,509,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of then-Senate appropriator Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) and current Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), including: $5,500,000 for an aquatic combat training facility at the Everett Naval Station; $3,400,000 for site improvements at Fort Lawton; and $1,400,000 for a fleet recreation center in Bremerton.

$13,632,000 added for projects in the district of House Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee member Norm Dicks (D-Wash.): $10,000,000 for phase II of an industrial skills center at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard; $1,930,000 for a fleet recreation facility at the Bremerton Naval Station; and $1,702,000 for a readiness center for the National Guard at the Bremerton Naval Station.

Unlike pork in other bills, Military Construction pork is not limited to the United States:

$26,000,000 added by the House for whole barracks renewal at Camp Hovey in South Korea.

$14,791,000 added in conference for the Air Force for planning and design for unspecified worldwide locations.

$7,488,000 added in conference for the Army for planning and design for unspecified worldwide locations.

$6,500,000 added in conference for the Navy for planning and design for unspecified worldwide locations.

Being a member of the military is often physically demanding. The following appropriations show that Military Construction appropriations can be both physically and fiscally demanding:

$12,813,000 added by the Senate for a physical fitness center at Dyess Air Force base in the state of Senate Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee member Kay Bailey Hutchison (RTexas).

$6,390,000 added by the House for a physical fitness center at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in the district of House appropriator Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.). Sources indicate that Miramar already has a gym with high-tech fitness equipment such as a Stairmaster with Internet access.

XI. State and Foreign Operations

Transportation appropriators crossed the budget finish line with more loot than ever in FY 2001. There were 385 (88 percent) more pork projects in the FY 2001 Transportation Appropriations Bill than in the FY 2000 bill. Overall, total transportation pork was up 24 percent from $1 billion in FY 2000 to $1.33 billion in FY 2001.

Appropriations subcommittee members inserted 217 bus and bus facilities projects and 62 specific Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants. Of the $100 million for Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants, $75.2 million went to identified states and localities. The Job Access and Reverse Commute Grant program began in FY 1999 to support welfare reform. Grants are to be awarded to local agencies, transit authorities and nonprofit organizations based on a demonstrated ability, or commitment, to improving welfare-to-work programs – that is, grants are to be awarded competitively. Unfortunately, the only competition is the annual race to the pork barrel.

$67,535,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $20,000,000 for Alaska Railroad Rehabilitation (a 100 percent increase from FY 2000); $5,000,000 for pedestrian and bus facilities and an intermodal center/parking garage in Ship Creek; $2,000,000 to remove obstructions at Nome Airport; $1,500,000 for a maintenance facility hanger for snow removal equipment at Juneau International Airport; $1,000,000 for Park and Ride and a passenger shuttle system at the Alaska State Fair; $850,000 for a welcome center at the Homer Maritime Wildlife Refuge; $400,000 for a parking lot/pedestrian safety access in Talkeetna (population 300); and $200,000 for urban revitalization in Palmer.

$50,000,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), including: $9,500,000 for a parking and intermodal facility at the Tuscaloosa Interdisciplinary Science Building; $5,000,000 for the Mobile Waterfront Terminal; $2,500,000 for buses and bus facilities at the University of South Alabama; $2,500,000 for the National Center for Asphalt Technology Pavement Research at Auburn University; $1,500,000 for statewide Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants; and $700,000 to extend runway 2/20 at Clayton Municipal Airpark.

$41,100,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.), including: $10,000,000 for improvements at St. Louis Lambert International Airport; $3,000,000 for statewide bus and bus facilities; $2,000,000 for earthquake hazards mitigation research at the University of Missouri–Rolla; $750,000 for city center plans in Springfield; $350,000 for Illus Davis Mall enhancements in Kansas City; and $150,000 for Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants for Meramec Community transit programs. Sen. Bond’s pork conquest was 207 percent more than his FY 2000 highway hijacking.

$28,450,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), including: $3,500,000 for the Frankford Transportation Center in Philadelphia; $3,000,000 for the Joseph M. McDade Terminal at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport; $2,000,000 for Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants for the Pittsburgh Port Authority in Allegheny County; $800,000 for Penns Landing Dock improvements; $600,000 for pedestrian improvements at Roberto Clemente Park in Pittsburgh; and $400,000 for pedestrian and streetscape improvements in Johnstown.

$26,625,000 added for projects in the state of then-Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and House appropriator Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), including: $4,000,000 for bus improvements at Newark Arena; $4,000,000 for New Jersey Transit alternative fuel buses; $2,000,000 for the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway; and $500,000 for the Elizabeth Ferry.

$23,250,000 added by the House for projects in the state of House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Martin Olav Sabo (D-Minn.), including: $13,500,000 for Metro Transit buses and bus facilities; $6,500,000 for statewide Specified Intelligent Systems Deployment Projects; and $1,000,000 for community transportation in Hennepin County. Even after securing this large helping of pork, and bragging about his “work” for Minnesota, Rep. Sabo still said that “Minneapolis gets shortchanged on federal funding.”

$16,086,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of then- Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) and current Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), including: $3,000,000 for the Eastgate Park and Ride in King County; $2,000,000 for cooperative safety research at the Western Washington University Vehicle Research Institute; $1,500,000 for the Transportation Research Center at Washington State University; and $580,000 for the Olympic Discovery Trail.

$10,000,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Harry Reid (D-Nev.), including: $2,000,000 for CNG buses and fleet conversion in Lake Tahoe; $2,000,000 for a study at University of Nevada in Las Vegas to develop remote airport check-in locations in cities; $1,000,000 for Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants in Washoe County; and $800,000 for an air quality study in southern Nevada.

$9,500,700 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Robert Bennett (R-Utah), including: $2,000,000 for a light rail project in Salt Lake City; $1,550,700 for airport terminal communications improvements in conjunction with the 2002 Winter Olympics; and $1,500,000 for aviation projects for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

$8,775,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and House appropriator Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), including: $5,000,000 for taxiway improvements at Baltimore-Washington International Airport; $1,800,000 million for taxiway reconstruction at Hayward Municipal Airport; and $400,000 for statewide Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants. Sen. Mikulski said, “I fight for federal funding to make travelling in Maryland safer.” Safer for whom? Certainly not the taxpayers’ wallets.

$4,000,000 added by the Senate for retiring Sen. Robert Kerrey (D-Neb.) for a pedestrian crossing on the Missouri River in Omaha. Kerrey, a former member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, admitted that by leaving the committee he probably “lost” $30 million in earmarks for the University of Nebraska alone. When he found out that he had received this “farewell” gift, courtesy of his old Senate Appropriations Committee buddy, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Kerrey exclaimed, “Is this a great country or what?” Great for oinkers, but bad for taxpayers.

$2,850,000 added for projects in the district of House Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member John Olver (D-Mass.), including: $1,500,000 for land acquisition, environmental assessment and design work at Pittsfield Municipal Airport; $1,000,000 for buses and bus facilities in Berkshire; and $350,000 for Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants in western Massachusetts.

$1,500,000 added by the Senate in the state of Senate appropriator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) for the Hanalei Scenic Outlook at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

$1,100,000 added by the House in the district of House Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) for instrument landing systems establishment at Wichita Midcontinent Airport. Rep. Tiahrt explained that this project was necessary because “Wichita [is] the Air Capital of the World.”

$1,010,000 added by the House for projects in the district of House Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Kay Granger (R-Texas), including $750,000 for a trolley study in Fort Worth and $260,000 for NorthEast Transportation Services, also in Fort Worth. Rep. Granger pledged, “I will be personally involved with this process to ensure our Tarrant County priorities are fully funded.”

$900,000 added for water taxis, including $500,000 added in conference for the St. John’s River Water Taxi in Jacksonville in the district of then-Rep. Tillie Fowler (R-Fla.) and $400,000 added by the Senate for the Savannah Water Taxi in Georgia. These projects prove that our tax dollars really do just float away.

$500,000 added by the House in the district of House Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Frank Wolf (R-Va.) for access to the Manassas Battlefield.

$450,000 added by the Senate to install perimeter fencing at the Morgantown Municipal Airport in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (DW. Va.). Maybe taxpayers need a fence around their money so appropriators can’t get their snouts into it.

$400,000 added by the Senate for the Pioneer Courthouse Square lobby renovation project in Portland. The senators from Oregon must have some good friends on the Senate Appropriations Committee, since this project has absolutely nothing to do with transportation issues.

$250,000 added by the House in the district of House appropriator Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) for Buckeye Greenbelt Parkway beautification in Toledo. All the trees and flowers in the world could not cover up the stench of rancid pork that emanates from this project.

$200,000 added by the Senate in the state of Senate Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) for a railroad and transportation museum in Las Cruces. Despite the entirely local benefit of this project, Sen. Domenici insists that all the pork he secures for his state will “improve transportation for the entire nation.”

$100,000 added by the House in the district of House Transportation Appropriations subcommittee member Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) for buses and bus facilities for the Community Action Program in southern Kentucky.

$100,000 added by the House in the district of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) for the Walkable Edgewater Initiative in Chicago. Rep. Schakowsky admitted asking for the favor, which she said would have environmental, social and economic benefits because the project will result in an increase in pedestrian traffic. “The federal government must do its part to ensure [the project’s] completion,” Rep. Schakowsky said.

XII. Treasury/Postal Service/General Government

Treasury/Postal Service/General Government pork year-to-year is a seesaw battle. This year, appropriations were on the upswing, allowing pork to increase by a whopping 571 percent to $648.4 million; this action left the taxpayers feeling vulnerable and dizzy. The main reason for this large increase is the General Services Administration (GSA). Although the House requested no funding and the Senate requested a mere $5.5 million for construction and acquisition at GSA, the conference committee requested more than $472 million. The money will be used to fund only nine projects; how GSA determines to apportion these funds is to be reported to the appropriations committees at a later date. In comparison, GSA received only $54,197,000 for construction and acquisition in FY 2000, 771 percent less than the amount allocated for FY 2001.

$3,500,000 added in conference for design and site acquisition of a combined federal, state and local law enforcement facility in St. Petersburg in the district of House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.).

$1,784,000 added by the Senate in the state of Senate appropriator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) for one firearms range at the Artesia Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Last year, $9.2 million was allotted for two firearms ranges at Artesia.

$700,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Treasury/Postal Service Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.): $500,000 for North Dakota State University to evaluate the impacts of alternative farm programs and to analyze World Trade Organization negotiations, and $200,000 for Three Tribes Indian Museum to prepare for the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark’s “Corps of Discovery.”

$300,000 added by the Senate in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) for a pilot program that will assist locally owned banking institutions as they bring rural communities into the new economy. One of the goals of this program will be to increase Alaskans’ exposure to the ATM (automated teller machine). Sen. Stevens has plenty of experience with his own personal ATM, the Senate Appropriations Committee.

$250,000 added by the Senate for the Heritage Harbor Museum in Providence, R.I., for the presentation of archival documents and oral histories of Native American tribes as part of the museum’s Native American Story program.

$190,000 added by the Senate for the Plains State Depopulation Symposium, a multistate symposium to investigate out-migration occurring in the Great Plains. Although the symposium will welcome representatives from several Midwestern states, it will be held at Dickinson State University in the state of Senate Treasury/Postal Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.). Sen. Dorgan hopes this allocation, along with the $475,000 he secured for the project in FY 2000 will find “public policies [that will] move more activities that used to be performed in big cities to rural areas.”

XII. Veterans Affairs/Housing and Urban Development

The VA/HUD Appropriations Bill, which covers spending through the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is a popular hiding place for earmarks. Ensconced in the FY 2001 bill are a record number of pork projects ranging from space observatories and wastewater infrastructure grants to restoring a carousel in Cleveland, Ohio. The FY 2001 VA/HUD bill contained 1,200 projects, an increase of 44 percent from FY 2000. The total of $1.62 billion was an increase of $141 million, or 8 percent, over FY 2000 VA/HUD pork, which totaled $1.48 billion.

Last year, Congress pigged out with a record 447 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) earmarks. This year, Congress went hog wild with 704 Economic Development Initiative (EDI) program earmarks that funded everything from a farmers market in Ohio to a soul music museum in Tennessee. Like the CDBG program, EDI was established to help low-income families and eliminate urban blight. Although the House requested $0 and the Senate requested $130 million, the conference committee ended up with $292 million worth of EDI grants. That includes $26 million in earmarks for museums, theaters, performing arts centers, and opera houses. Out of the 704 EDI grants, 500 (71 percent) were added in conference. The remaining 204 were added by the Senate. Both parties are to blame for this largesse, which occurred at the expense of the less fortunate who were intended to benefit from the EDI program.

$458,500,000 added by the Senate for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which includes $231,000,000 for Americorps. For the second year in a row, the House proposed eliminating funding and terminating CNCS. In the past, each “volunteer” for Americorps has cost taxpayers $27,000 annually.

$67,485,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (DW. Va.) and House VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), including: $20,300,000 for the Institute for Software Research, which includes $5,000,000 for construction related to a high-technology diversification initiative; $5,000,000 for the Vandalia Heritage Foundation for community and neighborhood revitalization and economic diversification initiatives; $4,000,000 for the Green Bank Radio Astronomy Observatory visitors center; $2,400,000 for Wheeling Jesuit University for construction of science/computer centers; $400,000 to renovate the Scarborough Library at Shepherd College; $400,000 for continued work on a health and wellness center at Bethany College; $310,000 for the West Virginia Humanities Council, which includes $210,000 to support production of “The Appalachians,” a film documentary; $250,000 for expansion of the ambulatory care facility at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg; $150,000 for the city of Moundsville for downtown revitalization associated with the Strand Theatre; and $100,000 for Salem International University for equipment, information, technology and infrastructure needs.

$51,275,000 added for projects in the state of Senate VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.) and House appropriator Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), including: $15,000,000 for infrastructure needs for the Life Sciences building at the University of Missouri–Columbia; $3,000,000 for the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center's modern genetics project; $2,850,000 for the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis for development and revitalization activities associated with McRae Town; $2,500,000 for Downtown Now, for revitalization efforts of the Old Post Office District in St. Louis; $400,000 for the Katy Depot Restoration Project in Sedalia; $200,000 for the Bond Family Housing Center in St. Louis for the Transitional Housing Program; $200,000 for the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department for renovation of the structures at Bee Tree Park; $100,000 for an open air pavilion at the Lamar Community Betterment Association; and $50,000 for the St. Louis County Economic Council for infrastructure and streetscape enhancements for the LeMay Business District.

$35,633,000 added for projects in the state of Senate VA/HUD Appropriations subcommittee member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and House appropriators Sonny Callahan (R-Ala.), Robert Aderholdt (R-Ala.), and Robert Cramer (D-Ala.), including: $3,000,000 for the Thomasville water facility project; $1,240,000 for a Regional Library Resource Center at Spring Hill College; $1,000,000 for the Mobile Public Library for the renovation of facilities as part of a neighborhood redevelopment project; $1,000,000 for courthouse restoration ($500,000 each for the Monroeville restoration project in Monroe County and the Chambers County Courthouse in LaFayette County); $500,000 for completion of the Pike County covered arena in Brundidge; $200,000 for the establishment of a Wellness Center at Oakwood College in Huntsville; and $20,000 for a study to plan and design the Agriplex Agriculture Museum in Culman.

$31,988,000 added for projects in the district of House VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman James Walsh (R-N.Y.), including: $14,000,000 for continued clean water improvements at Onandaga Lake; $10,000,000 for the city of Syracuse through the Neighborhood Initiatives Program; $1,935,000 for completion of the Crouse-Marshall Street Improvement Project at Syracuse University; $1,200,000 for Syracuse to build a temporary transmission tower during the transition of the public TV station from analog to digital television; $500,000 for infrastructure and expanded operational improvements for Borg-Warner Automotive Inc. in Cortland County; $430,000 for construction of a recreation center in Skaneateles; $215,000 for infrastructure improvements to the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse; $215,000 for renovations to the Salt City Theatre for the Performing Arts in Syracuse; and $43,000 for preservation and restoration of Civil War flags. Rep. Walsh is not shy about his pork largesse: “[this money] goes a long, long, way to offsetting the tax increases that Onandaga County taxpayers would have to pay. Otherwise that whole burden would fall on them.”

$25,873,100 added for projects on the state of Senate appropriator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and House VA/HUD Appropriations subcommittee member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), including: $2,600,000 for rehabilitation of the Opera House in Meridian; $2,000,000 for the restoration and rehabilitation of Cain Hall at Hinds Community College; $1,300,000 for water infrastructure needs in Tupelo; $1,000,000 for the renovation of historic downtown Madison; $500,000 for the establishment of a state film complex in Canton; and $500,000 for restoration of the old high school administration building in Ocean Springs.

$22,720,000 added for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $3,000,000 for Alaska Pacific University for the restoration of a historic property in Anchorage; $2,500,000 for a pilot training simulator at the University of Alaska; $2,200,000 for water and sewer improvements in Sitka and the North Star Borough; $1,500,000 for topographic sensor measurement efforts; and $1,000,000 for the Challenger Learning Center in Kenai.

$16,795,000 added for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Robert Bennett (R-Utah), including: $2,500,000 for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for its designee for environmental programs and operations of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympic games; $2,000,000 for the Utah Housing Finance Agency for temporary housing necessary for the 2002 Olympic Games; $1,000,000 for the purchase of land related to the Little Cottonwood Watershed Protection project in Sandy; $1,000,000 for construction of the West Valley City Multicultural Community Center; $930,000 for the Ironton Redevelopment Site in Provo City; and $500,000 for the University of Utah for planning and design of the Museum of Science and Nature. Sen. Bennett is definitely going for the taxpayers’ gold.

$13,508,500 added in conference for projects in the district of House appropriator Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), including: $5,000,000 for the space radiation program at Loma Linda University Hospital; $301,000 for infrastructure activities related to the Redlands Community Center; $215,000 for a public park complex to meet the recreational needs of the Spring Valley Lake community in Victorville; and $43,000 for roadway signage improvements to historic Route 66 between Topcock and Victorville. Rep. Lewis is getting his kicks, at our expense, on Route 66.

$14,700,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), including: $8,000,000 for infrastructure needs of the Mauna Kea Education Center at the University of Hawaii; $2,500,000 for the Bishop Museum and Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Center; $750,000 for the Waipahu Community Association for renovations and the establishment of a Waipahu festival market fair; and $250,000 for the Maui Academy of Performing Arts in Puuene for the acquisition and renovation of the facility.

$14,000,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), including: $5,000,000 for the Three Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration project; $1,000,000 for construction of an intermodal parking garage in Johnstown; $500,000 for relocation costs for the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia; $300,000 for Philadelphia to assist in the relocation of families in the Logan Neighborhood whose homes were built on an improperly filled creek bed; $300,000 for redevelopment of DeShong Park in Chester; $250,000 for Discovery Square Museum expansion in Erie; and $250,000 for the development of the Lancaster Square Project in Lancaster.

$12,950,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), including: $4,380,000 for regional water and wastewater system improvements in the North and South Valley of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County; $1,000,000 for the construction of a community center in Belen; $700,000 for the city of Santa Fe to construct a permanent site for the Santa Fe Area Farmer’s Market at the historic Santa Fe rail yard; $500,000 to replace Tatum’s community center; and $150,000 for Bataan Death March Memorial renovations in Las Cruces.

$11,425,000 for projects in the state of Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), including: $1,500,000 for construction of a community center in Aberdeen; $500,000 for the Sioux Falls Empire Fair Association for infrastructure improvements at the W.H. Lyons Fairgrounds; $300,000 to construct a community library in Brandon; $250,000 for renovation of the Homestake Opera House in Lead; $250,000 for development of the Lewis and Clark Waterfront Trail in Fort Pierre; and $75,000 for the Spearfish Economic Development Corporation for infrastructure development in the industrial park.

$10,600,000 for projects in the state of Senate VA/HUD Appropriations subcommittee member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), including: $2,500,000 for the city of Pownal wastewater treatment project; $500,000 for a renovation project at the Vermont Historical Society; $500,000 for the Vermont Recreation Center Foundation Center in Springfield; $400,000 for the Pyralisk Arts Center in Montpelier; and $200,000 for the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association for rehabilitation of the Fort Ethan Allen Riding Hall.

$9,150,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), including: $2,000,000 for biological nutrient removal in Crisfield; $1,800,000 for Comprehensive Housing Assistance Inc. in Baltimore for renovations to the Concord Apartments; $500,000 for renovations to Route 1 in Howard County; $400,000 for architecture, design and engineering work for redevelopment of McGuire House in Prince George’s County; $250,000 for the construction of the Takoma Park Computer Center; and $250,000 for costs associated with the Wheaton Small Business Technology Center.

$7,750,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate VA/HUD Appropriations subcommittee member Tom Harkin (DIowa), including: $1,000,000 for the city of Des Moines for planning of the redevelopment of the Riverpoint area; $500,000 for the development of Friendly House in Davenport; and $500,000 for a Small Business Pollution Prevention Center at the University of Northern Iowa.

$6,250,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), including: $2,000,000 for a water works improvement project in Berlin; $1,000,000 for the development of the Life Center at Franklin Pierce College in Ridge; $500,000 for renovation of the Palace Theatre in Manchester; and $300,000 for the Manchester Historic Association for the restoration of the Millyard Museum.

$4,275,000 added in conference for projects in the district of House VA/HUD Appropriations subcommittee member Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), including: $1,400,000 for Secor Garden improvements in Toledo; $1,050,000 for acquisition and improvements of Quarry Farms Park in Lucas County; $500,000 for the Ohio Lake Erie Research Center at the University of Toledo; $200,000 for the Bittersweet Farms Camp/Camp Courageous infrastructure projects in Swanton Township; and $50,000 for the Great Lakes Consortium for an international training and development program.

Below is a list of questionable EDI grants that Congress tried to sneak in under CAGW’s pork radar:

$1,500,000 added by the Senate to the city of Memphis for the construction of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Named after Stax records, one of the biggest studios for soul musicians from 1960 to 1975, the museum and 500-seat auditorium is projected to boost local tourism and the local economy. This stands in stark contrast to the Jimi Hendrix Museum in Seattle, which was funded without a penny from the federal government.

$1,100,000 for the Field Museum in Chicago for the development of the “Sue” exhibit, a showcase of a 67 million year old T-Rex. With the generous help of private corporations and individuals, the Field Museum of Chicago paid $8.4 million for “Sue,” the largest fossil of Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found.

$1,000,000 for the construction of the Gorilla Forest Exhibition in Louisville in the district of House VA/HUD Appropriations subcommittee member Anne Northup (R-Ky.).

$930,000 added by the Senate for expansion of Findlay Market in Cincinnati. According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, “Regular Findlay Market shoppers value the weekly ritual of squeezing through the market house aisle, surrounded by the smells of fresh fish and pork.” They don’t know how fresh that pork really is!

$550,000 for the Springfield Library and Museum Association in Massachusetts for construction and infrastructure improvements related to a national memorial and park honoring Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss. The new park should be named “Green Eggs and Pork.” This is in addition to the $400,000 added in conference in FY 2000 for this project.

$500,000 for the International Glass Museum in Tacoma, Washington. News reports indicate there has been difficulty in raising funds for this parochial project. If this building falls short of the funds needed for construction, future appropriations will shatter the taxpayers’ dreams of fiscal responsibility.

$500,000 added by the Senate for Cleveland Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization, for the restoration of the Euclid Beach Carousel. Cleveland Tomorrow plans a whole revitalization effort associated with the carousel, including a building that will have a ticket office, snack bar, gift shop, public bathrooms and space for the offices of a cruise company.

$500,000 added by the Senate for the Seattle Art Museum in the state of then-Senate appropriator Slade Gorton (R-Wa.) and current Senate appropriator Patty Murray (D-Wa.). According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Seattle Art Museum is the city’s third top attraction behind the Space Needle and the observation towers at the Space Needle. A renaissance of museums has taken place in the Seattle/Tacoma area, with the Seattle Art Museum’s biggest competitor being the International Glass Museum in Tacoma (see above). The Seattle Post-Intelligencer also noted that as of October 1999 the museum had a fund balance of $60 million, with an additional $15 million pledged by the end of 2000.

Historical Trends

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