Washington, D.C. – With the presidential contest finally past, this week Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named the outgoing 106^th Congress its December Porker of the Month.

Unable to spend President Clinton into submission before Election Day, the lame-duck Congress still has four federal appropriations bills to complete before adjournment.  Taxpayers should be concerned that  these large bills will be stuffed full of pork by congressional appropriators.

CAGW thought last year’s spending would be an all-time record, with a preposterous $17.7 billion in inappropriately-added pork.  This year, CAGW is anticipating even higher pork levels when the final tally is made.

CAGW has so far analyzed 7 of the 13 appropriations bills and has found increases in virtually every bill according to its seven-point criteria for pork.  The bills (Agriculture, Defense, Energy and Water, Interior, Military Construction, Transportation, and VA/HUD) contain more than 4,400 projects, costing taxpayers $15.9 billion in pork.  This year’s final tally will easily surpass last year’s record of 4,326 projects worth $17.7 billion.

There is about $85 million more pork attached to this year’s Agriculture appropriation than in fiscal 2000, an increase of 75 percent.  Similarly, pork in the Energy and Water appropriation expanded from last year’s $569 million to $834 million, up 47 percent.  In the Interior bill, an additional $231 million of pork was added, a 70 percent hike. 

During the fiscal 2001 appropriations process, the 106^th Congress acted like sailors on payday. This year there were 100 more pork-barrel items in the Agriculture bill than the year before, 110 more in defense, 158 more in Energy and Water, 159 more in Interior, and 331 more in VA/HUD.

In the most blatant example of largess, the Economic Development Initiative, a program established to promote economic and social revitalization, was loaded up with more than 700 earmarks totaling $292 million.  Included in that total was $36.3 million for opera houses, theaters, and museums.  The House- passed bill contained zero earmarks while the Senate version contained $130 million in earmarks.

For throwing themselves an unprecedented porkfest at taxpayer's expense, we name the 106^th Congress as the Porker of the Month for December, with best wishes for a better year by the 107^th Congress.

CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization with over a million members and supporters, dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government.