Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today announced the nominees for its 2010 Porker of the Year.  People may cast their ballots for the candidate(s) they think was the most reprehensible Porker of 2010 in an online poll at www.cagw.org.  The six finalists were chosen by CAGW staff from among 12 worthy Porkers of the Month for 2010.  The winner(s) will be announced in mid-February.  The candidates are:

• Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) - CAGW named Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) the January Porker of the Month for furnishing the pivotal 60th vote for cloture on December 19, 2009, thereby allowing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) healthcare bill to come to the Senate floor for final passage.  Sen. Nelson held out until he was able to parlay his vote to secure, among other perks, a permanent exemption for Nebraska to the Medicaid expansion in the Reid bill, saving the state between $59 million and $281 million.  The deal has been dubbed the “Cornhusker Kickback.” 

• Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) - CAGW named Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) the April Porker of the Month for being the biggest porker in the 2010 Congressional Pig Book, the third consecutive year he received this dishonor.  Sen. Cochran obtained 240 earmarks worth $490 million.  Since fiscal year 2008, Sen. Cochran has obtained more than $2 billion in pork-barrel earmarks. 

• Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski - CAGW named Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski the May Porker of the Month for his decision to push forward with a net neutrality plan and impose federal regulations on the Internet. 

• Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) - CAGW named Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) the August Porker of the Month for sponsoring legislation that could give federal funding to his daughter’s nonprofit organization, which promotes overseas wildlife protection for cheetahs.

• Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) - CAGW named Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) the October Porker of the Month for exaggerating the effect of the failed economic stimulus program, making dubious claims about jobs numbers, and misleading the American people about the true economic picture. 

• Senators James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) - CAGW named Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) December Porkers of the Month for their refusal to go along with the Republican earmark moratorium in the Senate. 

CAGW is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.  Porker of the Month and Porker of the Year are dubious honors given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.