(Washington, D.C.) — Last week the House passed the fiscal 2005 Energy and Water Appropriations Act (H.R. 4614) which contained $734.5 million more than fiscal 2004.  This bill funds important items such as nuclear waste cleanup programs and water infrastructure maintenance.  However, appropriators added 300 pork barrel projects to the Army Corps of Engineers’ budget, totaling $354 million.  With the federal government swimming in a sea of debt, and gas prices soaring, members of Congress should not be wasting so much energy on creative ways to squander our tax dollars.

Some examples of pork in the Energy and Water bill include:

-$14,000,000 for the Chickamauga Lock in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.);

-$11,500,000 added for projects in the Calumet region in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.):  $6,500,000 for the Little Calumet River Basin; $3,500,000 for the Calumet Region Environmental Infrastructure Program; $1,000,000 for erosion projects along the Indiana shoreline; and $500,000 for the Grand Calumet River Remedial Action Plan;

-$4,700,000 for projects in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Michael Simpson (R-Idaho) for environmental projects:  $4,500,000 for the Rural Idaho Environmental Infrastructure Program and $200,000 for general investigations of the Boise River;

-$4,567,000 in or around the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Marion Berry (D-Ark.) for river maintenance projects:  $3,000,000 for the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System; $1,000,000 for maintenance projects on the White River; $350,000 for Helena Harbor operations; $150,000 for Arkansas River Levees; and $67,000 for general investigations of Hot Springs;

-$2,575,000 added for projects in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.):  $1,200,000 for the Bois Brule Levee and Drainage District; $1,000,000 for construction projects at Cape Girardeau; and $375,000 for programs at the Southeast Missouri Port;

-$400,000 for studies on the environmental impact of Asian oysters in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland; and

-$290,000 for the Lake Worth Inlet Sand Transfer Plant in Palm Beach County, Fla., which is scheduled to begin renovations in 2005.

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