Washington, D.C. – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis of the House version of the fiscal year (FY) 2012 Agriculture Appropriations Act.  There are seven earmarks in the bill worth $56,750,000.  This represents a 96 percent decrease from the 192 projects in FY 2011 and a 61 percent decrease in cost from the FY 2011 amount of $143,890,000.  The bill allocates $125.5 billion for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and other agencies, which is $7 billion below the President’s budget request.  This total reflects a $2.7 billion reduction in discretionary spending and a $3 billion increase in mandatory funding from FY 2011. 

Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) stated:  “Our members have worked to root out waste and duplication and, where they have strayed from their core mission, we rein in agencies so they may better focus on the responsibilities for which they are intended.”  The committee refrained from funding many infamous earmarks from years past, including wood utilization research, which had received $100 million since 1985; and shrimp aquaculture research, which had received $74.5 million since 1985.

“The overall bill moves in the right direction, but there are still some scraps of bacon that need to be eliminated.  We cannot afford to allow any taxpayer funds to be squandered,” stated CAGW President Tom Schatz.

The following are some examples of pork added to the Agriculture bill:

• $40,000,000 for Boll Weevil eradication;
• $4,000,000 for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Research and Education Activities for animal health and disease research; and
• $2,250,000 for the Delta Regional Authority.

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