(Washington, D.C.) - Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) recently wrote a guest editorial that appeared in several Mississippi newspapers defending pork-barrel spending and criticizing Citizens Against Government Waste's 2002 Congressional Pig Book.  The editorial can be found on Sen. Lott's website at: http://lott.senate.gov/news/2000/502.pork.htm.  CAGW sent the following letter to Lott in response:

            I would like to clear up your confusion regarding the 2002 Congressional Pig Book, as illustrated by your op-ed in several Mississippi newspapers.  Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) does not “believe any federal expenditure outside Washington is unnecessary,” as you claimed, but we do object to the unfair and uneven distribution of funds that occurs when the budget process is abused by the Appropriations Committee.

            CAGW determines whether a project is pork based on an objective seven-point criteria: requested by only one chamber of Congress; not specifically authorized; not competitively awarded; not requested by the President; greatly exceeds the president’s budget request or the previous year’s funding; not the subject of congressional hearings; or serves only a local or special interest.  These criteria ensure a non-biased analysis based on the process, not the merits of an earmark, to determine whether a project deserves to be labeled pork.

We have great respect for your leadership of the Republican party in the Senate and have worked with you and your staff on numerous issues of mutual interest over the years.  But we obviously disagree about the process by which earmarks are added to the Appropriations bills, as well as the impact of these projects on the budget.

Instead of mocking CAGW’s concern over pork, we urge you to focus on the bigger picture.  This year’s pork list was comprised of 8,341 items that cost taxpayers $20.1 billion.  We now face a deficit of at least $100 billion, with little hope of a surplus over the next several years.  Unlike World War II and the Korean War, when non-defense spending was reduced between 20 and 25 percent, today’s Congress apparently feels no qualms about spending money like nothing changed on Sept. 11.  CAGW urges citizens to consider this factor before voting this fall.

The Bush Administration has proposed moving funds from lower priority projects such as those identified in the Pig Book to higher priorities such as homeland security and the war on terrorism.  I am sure the folks back home would be happy to give up a few pet projects in favor of preventing future attacks.  As Senate Minority Leader, I would hope you would set an example by being the first to forgo earmarks for fiscal 2003.

To turn the sow’s ear into a silk purse, as you do in your op-ed, does a disservice to the taxpaying public.  New terrorist warnings make it imperative that you and your colleagues focus your time and energy on defending the country, not your pork.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.