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CAGW's Blog
1-800-
BE-ANGRY
May, 2005
A Monthly Dispatch from Citizens Against Government Waste
Congressman Flake: Pork Buster
by: Alex Budak
Earmarks have long been a way for members of Congress to fund ridiculous pork projects hidden under the umbrella of otherwise needed legislation. With appropriations bills running thousands of pages in length, well-placed politicians include line-items for projects in home districts that escape the scrutiny of the full Congress. Over the years, Citizens Against Government Waste has forged close alliances with some members of Congress to eliminate pork in the federal budget. One such crusader is Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).
CAGW Fights Postal Rate Increase
by: Leslie Paige
Citizens Against Government Waste joined a large group of taxpayer and consumer groups in signing a letter to Jim Miller, chairman of the United States Postal Service's (USPS) Board of Governors, outlining six essential elements of meaningful postal reform. The USPS filed for a rate increase on April 8, 2005, seeking an across-the-board 5.4 percent increase in all categories of mail. In addition, Congress is considering a legislative package to implement postal reforms.
Bridge to Nowhere
by: Angela French
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) is at it again. The hero to fiscal conservatives (and recent recipient of Citizens Against Government Waste's Grace Commission Legacy Award) is questioning a proposal to build a three-mile bridge over the Santee River that would connect the state's rural communities of Rimini in Clarendon County with Lone Star in Calhoun County. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) included $25 million for the project in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005, arguing that the bridge would bring economic development to the impoverished area and improve the local school system.
Arrest COPS
by: Lauren Cook
Included in the list of 150 programs targeted by President Bush for cuts or elimination is the defective and deficient Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. A signature plan of the Clinton administration, COPS was intended to reduce rising crime rates in the early 1990s by providing federal grant money for the hiring of 100,000 police officers to patrol American streets. Ten years and $11.6 billion later, the program has failed to reach its stated goals and has fallen victim to hundreds of millions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse.
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