(Washington, D.C.) − As the summer begins to heat up, the pressure is mounting for the Senate to determine what will stay and what will go from the House’s pork-laden 2006 Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act (H.R. 2528).  This supposed arduous task should be easy since members should demonstrate fiscal restraint and strike out all unnecessary spending.  However, the House bill is $1,050,081,000 above the president’s request and includes 106 pet projects, costing $557,458,000.

Below are examples from the four states which comprise over 25 percent of the total pork that is in H.R. 2528:

• Golden Gifts for the Golden Bear State.  The sun is shining brightly on California after House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis and company allocated $45,390,000 in pork for their state, including:  $710,000 for an air traffic control tower at the NAWC Weapons Division in China Lake, Lewis’ backyard; $4,250,000 to replace a dining facility at Fort Irwin; and, $3,900,000 for a C-17 wheel and tire shop at the Travis Air Force Base.   
• Sweet Home Alabama.  Home improvements for Alabama from Robert Aderholt, Vice Chairman of the Military Quality of Life Subcomittee, and appropriator Robert E. "Bud" Cramer, Jr. total $21,695,000 and include:  $3,150,000 for upgrading the 33 Theater High Altitude Air Defense Storage Igloos at Anniston Army Depot; $9,700,000 for a system test and integration lab/flight test support facility at Fort Rucker; and, $4,145,000 for an addition/alteration of a readiness center at Fort Payne.
• Gator-Aide. Is it in you?  For Florida, the answer is a definite yes. Members like Bill Young, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, boosted state pork to $43,949,000, including:  $10,000,000 for phase II of a 1^st Air Force Center Operations at Tyndall Air Force Base, Crenshaw’s stomping grounds; and, $6,900,000 for visiting quarters at Homestead Air Reserve Base.
• Bigger is Always better in the Lone Star State.  Texas, with its five house appropriators, is walking away with $40,430,000 in pet projects which include:  $5,000,000 for a vehicle bridge at Fort Bliss, $4,650,000 for a fire station and $6,800,000 for a physical fitness center at Fort Hood in majority leader Tom DeLay and appropriator John Carter’s districts; $4,300,000 for a chapel center at Goodfellow Air Force Base; and, $7,900,000 for an aircraft maintenance complex at Laughlin Air Force Base.

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