It’s been three months since the start of fiscal 2004, and what a surprise, Congress has yet to finish the appropriations process.  Though they have missed their appropriations deadline and are faced with a $500 billion deficit, members are finding the time to pile on the pork.  In fact, they just introduced the Consolidated Appropriations Act for fiscal 2004 (H.R. 2673), which consists of seven of the thirteen spending bills.  Members often use omnibus bills as a mechanism to get copious amounts of pork, and this one is proving to be no different.  The 1,448-page bill totals $820 billion and is stuffed to the brim with parochial projects.  Here are some examples of the pork in H.R. 2673: 

-$2,000,000 added by the Senate for The First Tee Program in St. Augustine, Fla. to provide affordable access to golf

 for everyone, especially kids;

-$1,800,000 added by the Senate for the Appalachian fruit laboratory in Kearneysville, W.Va.;

-$1,000,000 added by the Senate for the Alaska SeaLife Center;

-$500,000 added by the Senate for Salt Lake City, Utah for the Pete Suazo Business Center to purchase building

 space;

-$447,000 added by the Senate for halibut data collection in Alaska;

-$270,000 added by the Senate for potato storage in Madison, Wisc.;

-$250,000 added by the Senate for the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser, Wash. for costs

 associated with construction;

-$200,000 added by the House to the Town of Guadalupe, Ariz. for construction and renovation of the Mercado

 shopping center;

-$150,000 added in conference for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in Alaska; and

-$75,000 added by the House for the East Valley YMCA in North Hollywood, Calif. for facilities renovation.

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