(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), the nation’s premiere taxpayer watchdog, in conjunction with the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR), Tennessee’s free market think tank, today released the Tennessee Pork Report.  The report is the latest in CAGW’s series of Piglet Books, which expose wasteful spending by state governments. 

The Tennessee Pork Report shines a light on egregious examples of waste, fraud, and abuse.  Here are just a few expenditures paid for by Tennessee taxpayers:

• $2.2 million to remodel five hearing rooms at Legislative Plaza.  The Senate’s secret “Cloakroom” is lavishly furnished with 14 chairs that retail for $907 each with a $3,600 high definition 50-inch flat screen television.
• $784,205 to provide TennCare benefits to dead people.
• $700,000 to host the National Conference of State Legislatures.
• $5,400 to rename the Tipton County armory the “Speaker Jimmy Naifeh National Guard Armory.”

“On behalf of its 18,117 members in Tennessee, CAGW calls on Tennessee leaders to cut the fat from the state’s ballooning budget,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said. 

The report is available online at www.cagw.org and www.tennesseepolicy.org.  For answers to further questions, to schedule an interview, or to order a hard copy, please contact Tom Finnigan (202-467-5309, media@cagw.org) or Nicole Williams (615-383-6431, info@tennesseepolicy.org).

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.  The Tennessee Center for Policy Research is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to providing concerned citizens, the media and public leaders with expert empirical research and timely free market policy solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee.