CAGW Profiles Likely Appropriations Cardinals 

Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released “pork profiles” for members of Congress expected to receive an Appropriations subcommittee chairmanship in the 110^th Congress, as well as the incoming Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader.    

Democrats swept to power in the 2006 midterm elections on a platform of ethics and reform.  Yet earmarking, a practice that bred the corruption that cancelled the Republican Congress, is championed by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, soon to be run by Democrats.  Appropriations subcommittee chairmen are known as “Cardinals” for their strict control over the distribution of millions of tax dollars to their districts and states and their role as gatekeepers for other members’ pet projects.     

Earmarking is a bipartisan sport, but nowhere is this truer than in the Appropriations Committees.  When the House approved a Republican-sponsored rule change in September 2006 that required some earmarks and their sponsors be identified in spending, tax, and authorization bills, 22 of the 24 Republicans to vote “no” were members of the Appropriations Committee.  One-hundred forty-seven Democrats also voted against the proposal.  Many of the “no” voters, including incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), likely House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wisc.), and likely Rules Committee Chair Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), criticized the proposal for not going far enough.  Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate have promised to transform the earmark process. 

“There are three parties in Washington:  Democrats; Republicans; and appropriators,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “Democrats should expect any serious reform efforts to meet stiff opposition from appropriators who have no qualms about breaking party lines, or the bank, to keep their pork.”

Based largely on CAGW’s annual Congressional Pig Book, the pork profiles chronicle members’ exploits with pork totals, examples, quotes, and voting record.  The profiles are available at www.cagw.org.

“It remains to be seen whether Democrats will be better behaved than the Republicans, who presided over an explosion of earmarks and spending.  One fact is certain:  A suspension or reduction of pork-barrel spending would constitute a remarkable break from tradition for either party,” Schatz concluded.

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