Pork Alert: Senate Commerce/Justice/Science

Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of the Senate version of the Fiscal 2009 Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations Act.  There are 574 projects for a total of $436.5 million in this year’s Senate bill.

The top five porkers are Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) with $72.9 million; Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) with $52.4 million; Senate CJS Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) with $48.7 million; Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) with $41.2 million and Senate appropriator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) with $32.1 million.

The following are examples that pork-loving members added to the bill:

• $24.6 million for two projects by Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Sens. Jim Cardin (D-Md.), Jim Webb (D-Va.), and John Warner (R-Va.), to aid watermen in the Chesapeake Bay with new work opportunities, and to restore oyster habitat and plant disease free oysters in scientifically selected sites throughout the Chesapeake Bay;
• $4.9 million for nine projects for the Marshall Space and Flight Center in Huntsville, by Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.);
• $750,000 by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for the University of Louisville to research factors that hinder the wound healing process;
• $450,000 by Senator David Vitter (R-La.) to eliminate public corruption and reduce white collar crime;
• $400,000 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for copper wire theft prevention in Las Vegas; and,
• $100,000 for the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation by Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) to provide economic relief to Maine lobstermen. 

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

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