Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) President Tom Schatz will today address the City Club of Cleveland on the topic of pork-barrel spending. 

The City Club, “The Citadel of Free Speech,” is the “oldest continuous free speech forum in the country, renowned for its tradition of debate and discussion.”  With 1,400 members, The City Club “believes in the free expression of all ideas and the benefits of an open exchange. It is non-partisan and does not take positions on issues. All speakers must answer unfiltered, unrehearsed questions directly from the audience.”  The Friday Forum is broadcast on hundreds of radio outlets in more than 40 states.  It will be webcast live at 1:00 pm EST at www.cityclub.org.

Tom Schatz’s speech, “The Politics of Pork,” will touch on the history of pork, the earmarking process, its role in recent lobbying and ethics scandals, and the reform efforts now being debated in Congress.  Pork-barrel projects are earmarks that members of Congress slip into spending bills outside the normal budget process.  Since 1991, CAGW has released its Congressional Pig Book, a compilation of pork-barrel projects in the federal budget.  Released on April 5, the 2006 Pig Book identifies 9,963 pork projects that cost a record $29 billion. 

In 2005, CAGW teamed up with the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions to publish the Ohio Piglet Book to expose waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement by the Ohio state government. 

“A national dialogue on earmarks is long overdue,” Schatz said.  “I am honored and thankful for the opportunity to address the City Club of Cleveland this afternoon.” 

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.  Founded by J. Peter Grace and Jack Anderson in 1984 following the release of the Grace Commission report, CAGW has more than one million members and supporters nationwide.  Implementation of Grace Commission and other waste-cutting recommendations has helped save taxpayers more than $825 billion.