CAGW is the source for information about pork-barrel spending.  Since 1991, the annual Congressional Pig Book has provided the authoritative list of pork in the federal budget.  A "pork" project is a line-item in an appropriations or authorization bill that designates funds for a specific purpose in circumvention of established budgetary procedures.  To qualify as pork, a project must meet one of seven criteria that were developed in 1991 by CAGW and the Congresional Porkbusters Coalition. 

Resources: 

Congressional Pig Book: Annual list of pork-barrel projects in the federal budget.

Complete Pork Database:  Search every pork project from 1995 to 2009.

Historical Trends 

All Pork Alerts: Fiscal Year 2009 Appropriations Earmarks

Report: All About Pork: The Abuse of Earmarks and the Needed Reforms 

CAGW FY 2009 Earmark Request Database
- House and Senate Earmark Request Lists

         Pork Trends, 1991-2009*                                 Quick Facts:                 

• The # of pork projects decreased by 12.5 percent to 10,160 in 2009. The cost of pork increased 14 percent to $19.6 billion in 2009. Since 1991, CAGW has identified 100,849 projects totaling $290 billion. * All years are fiscal years