(Washington, D.C.) — It’s been three months since the start of fiscal 2004, and what a surprise, Congress has yet to finish the appropriations process.  Though they have missed their appropriations deadline and are faced with a $500 billion deficit, members are finding the time to pile on the pork.  The House recently passed  the Consolidated Appropriations Act for fiscal 2004 (H.R. 2673), which consists of seven of the thirteen spending bills. However, the Senate is not expected to take action on  the bill until January 20^th  when it it reconvenes after a lengthy holidy recess.  Members often use omnibus bills as a mechanism to get copious amounts of pork, and this one is proving to be no different.  The 1,448-page bill totals $820 billion and is stuffed to the brim with parochial projects.  Here are some examples of the pork in H.R. 2673: 

-$50,000,000 added in conference for an indoor rain forrest in Coralville, Iowa;

-$1,000,000 added by the Senate for the Alaska SeaLife Center;

-$653,000 added by the Senate to study rainbow trout at the University of Idaho’s Hagerman Fish Culture

 Experiment Station in Aberdeen;

-$500,000 added in conference for the Hawaii Community Foundation for the Samoan/Asian Pacific Job Training

 Program;

-$500,000 added in conference for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to establish a paper science technology

 transfer center;

-$300,000 added by the House to assist in creating a database of North Carolina’s agricultural industry to enable a

 rapid response to acts of terrorism;

-$270,000 added by the House for cotton quality in Clemson, S.C.;

-$200,000 added by the House to the Town of Guadalupe, Ariz. for construction and renovation of the Mercado

 shopping center;

-$200,000 added in conference for the University of Hawaii, West Oahu Campus, to produce the “Primal Quest” film

 documentary;

-$150,000 added in conference for the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in Alaska; and

-$75,000 added by the House for the East Valley YMCA in North Hollywood, Calif. for facilities renovation.

CAGW will provide continuing updates on pork in the omnibus spending bill.  For more information, please visit: /site/PageServer?pagename=policy_porkbarrelreport.

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