Introduction

Alaska again led the nation with $985 per capita ($646 million), or 30 times the national pork average of $33. The runners up were the District of Columbia with $461 per capita ($257 million) and Hawaii with $454 per capita ($574 million). Senators have once again proven that membership has its privileges: your money.

CAGW warned last year that without meaningful budget reform, there could be another record level of pork in fiscal 2005. And, there was. The biggest disappointment is the way appropriators loaded up the Homeland Security Appropriations Act with total disregard to both our fiscal and physical security.

The 570 projects, totaling $4.7 billion, in this year¹s Congressional Pig Book Summary symbolize the most egregious and blatant examples of pork. The 13,997 projects in the complete Congressional Pig Book are available in a searchable database on CAGW¹s web site, www.cagw.org. As in previous years, all of the items named in the Pig Book meet at least one of CAGW¹s seven criteria, but most satisfy at least two:

• Requested by only one chamber of Congress;
• Not specifically authorized;
• Not competitively awarded;
• Not requested by the President;
• Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding;
• Not the subject of congressional hearings; or
• Serves only a local or special interest.

I. Agriculture

Every year appropriators and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) perform their little dance: USDA requests very little funding for special research grants through the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) and appropriators add millions of dollars for their own pet projects. The fiscal 2005 budget is no different. This tango with our tax dollars continued as USDA requested only $3 million while appropriators added $121 million for CSREES projects, or 3,933 percent more than the budget request. As a result, the fiscal 2005 Agriculture Appropriations Act has something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Total agriculture pork in fiscal 2005 was $526.1 million, or 44 percent more than the fiscal 2004 total of $365 million. The number of projects decreased by 1 percent, from 512 to 505.

$37,402,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $26,000,000 (4.9 percent of the pork for the entire bill) for Alaska villages through the Rural Community Advancement Program; $1,790,000 for berry research; $1,108,000 for alternative salmon products; $358,000 for seed research; $284,000 for ethnobotany research; $167,000 for salmon quality standards; and $160,000 for seafood waste research in Fairbanks.

$14,736,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), including: $3,000,000 for the Jamie Whitten Delta States Research Center in Stoneville; $943,000 for advanced spatial technologies research; $334,000 for e-commerce research; $269,000 for seafood and aquaculture harvesting, processing, and marketing; $225,000 for the Rankin County Erosion Control Project; and $133,000 for an extension specialist.

$13,730,093 for projects in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Herb Kohl (DWis.) and the district of House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member David Obey (D-Wis.), including: $4,900,000 for the Nutrient Management Laboratory in Marshfield; $1,050,000 for a cooperative agreement with the Sand County Foundation; $950,000 for the Grazing Lands Initiative with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture; $817,000 for urban horticulture; $569,000 for the Babcock Institute (according to their website, their “strategy is twofold: to enhance the competitiveness of the US dairy industry by drawing on global perspectives; to strengthen dairy industries around the world by sharing US expertise.” With a $2 billion U.S. dairy subsidy and the rest of the world’s penchant for subsidies, it seems as if they already know each other’s secrets); $225,000 for dairy forage research in Madison; and $114,000 for the Conservation Land Internship Program.

$11,452,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (DW. Va.), including: $4,418,000 for the GIS Center of Excellence at West Virginia University; $3,638,000 for the Appalachian Fruit Laboratory in Kearneysville; $860,000 for Appalachian small farmer outreach; $711,000 for aquaculture product and marketing development; $654,000 for agriculture waste utilization research; $569,000 for water pollutants research; $300,000 for the Potomac and Ohio River Basin Soil Nutrient Project; and $150,000 for turfgrass research in Beaver.

$9,850,500 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), including: $3,000,000 for the Forage Animal Research Laboratory in Lexington; $2,300,000 for animal waste management in Bowling Green; $730,000 for new crop opportunities research; and $137,500 for waste management research at Bowling Green University and Western Kentucky University.

$9,630,000 for projects in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and the district of House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member Tom Latham (R-Iowa), including: $1,789,000 for the Iowa Biotechnology Consortium; $688,000 for the Midwest Poultry Consortium; $655,000 for human nutrition research; $600,000 for the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development; $419,000 for food chain economic analysis; $268,000 for livestock waste research; $250,000 for the Iowa Vitality Center; $231,000 for dairy education; and $100,000 for the Trees Forever Program. The Trees Forever Program, in partnership with the Aquila Company (formerly Peoples Natural Gas), distributes grants to groups and communities that are planting trees in their neighborhoods. A major component of the program is making sure that people are aware of the type of injuries trees can sustain during the winter from heavy loads of ice and snow. This project should be called the Deficits Forever Program.

$8,345,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and the districts of House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee member George Nethercutt, Jr. (RWash.) and House appropriator Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), including: $3,000,000 for the Agricultural Research Laboratory in Pullman; $325,000 for the Wine Grape Foundation Block; and $250,000 for asparagus technology and production. Washington State University and Michigan State University are jointly researching methods to reduce labor costs in the asparagus industry. The industry’s labor costs, combined with federal anti-drug and trade policies that have led to a disproportionate increase in imported asparagus, have left Washington’s asparagus industry at a competitive disadvantage. Sen. Murray included language asking USDA to purchase asparagus in 2005 for domestic feeding programs.

$7,425,000 for projects in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Robert Bennett (R-Utah), including: $1,484,000 for functional genomics; $896,000 for botanical research; $284,000 for the Oquirrh Institute (according to USDA testimony, “the non-federal funds and sources provided for this grant were $500 from foundations and corporations”); $225,000 for pasture and forage research; and $125,000 each for air quality research and forest range research.

$6,285,000 for wood utilization research (Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Mich., Minn., Miss., N.C., Ore., Tenn., Wash., and W.Va.). Since 1985, $79 million has been sapped from the taxpayers for this research.

$3,973,000 for shrimp aquaculture research (Ariz., Hawaii, La., Mass., Miss., S.C., and Texas). According to USDA testimony in March 2004, “the completion date for the original research objectives was 1987. The original objectives have been met. Research conducted with fiscal year 2002 funding was completed in June 2003. Research outlined in the proposal are anticipated to be completed by May of 2004.” Since 1985, $61 million has been appropriated for this research.

$1,850,000 for the viticulture consortium (Calif., N.Y., and Pa.). According to grantee Cornell University’s website, “this grant is to maintain a consortium through which research in support of viticulture and the viticulture industry will be coordinated and, through a re-grant program, experiment stations and universities can be assisted in their funding of pertinent research projects.” Wine sales in the United States grew 5 percent to a record 627 million gallons in 2003, with a retail value of $21.6 billion, a 2.3 percent increase over the previous year’s sales. California alone produced 417 million gallons, which accounted for a 67 percent share of the market, or two of every three bottles sold in the United States. U.S. export figures jumped an estimated 17 percent over the previous year (about 95 percent of the exports are from California) to $643 million in winery revenues and surged 29 percent by volume to 96 million gallons.

$469,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) in Edgefield, S.C. According to USDA testimony in March 2004, “CREES has requested the Federation to submit a grant proposal, but this has not yet happened.” NWTF is a half million member grassroots organization that, according to USDA, “supports public conservation education, especially that concerning wild turkey hunting as a traditional North American sport.”

$355,000 for floriculture research in the state of Senate appropriator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii). According to USDA, “this research is supporting Hawaii’s tropical flower and foliage plant industry…the state of Hawaii valued out-of-state sales of tropical flowers and foliage at $83 million in 1982.” Since 1989, $4.6 million has been spent on this research.

$335,000 for cranberry/blueberry disease and breeding in New Jersey. According to USDA testimony, “the estimated completion date for the original objectives was 1995. Those objectives have not been met.” USDA ironically added, “The last agency evaluation of this project occurred in April 2004. The evaluation concluded that the effort has been highly productive….” Since 1985, $4.3 million has been spent on this research.

$300,000 for wool research (Mont., Texas, and Wyo.). Wool prices are improving to levels that have not been seen for 8-10 years. The low value of the U.S. dollar has led to an increase in exports, giving the wool industry cause for optimism. Since 1984, $4.6 million has been appropriated for this research.

$246,000 added by the Senate for delta rural revitalization in the state of Senate appropriator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). According to USDA testimony, “the original completion date was September 30, 1991. The original objectives of this research have been met. The current research phase of this program will be completed in 2004.” Since 1989, $2.7 million has been appropriated for this research.

$213,000 added by the House for tropical aquaculture research in Florida. According to USDA testimony, “the research proposal states that the production of tropical ornamental fish is the largest component of aquaculture in Florida with a value in excess of $42 million.” Since 2000, $1 million has been spent on this research.

II. Commerce, Justice, and Science

The Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State execute key objectives in the war on terror — they hold together diplomatic coalitions, monitor intelligence for future threats, guard borders, and bring terrorists to justice. But this appropriation also funds agencies such as the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Such widespread options are always tempting to appropriators. Even though the total number of projects increased by 30 percent, from 896 in fiscal 2004 to 1,168 in fiscal 2005, the amount of pork decreased by 3 percent, from $1.38 billion to $1.34 billion.

$68,600,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Ernest “Fritz” Hollings (D-S.C.), including: $20,000,000 for the Bonneau Ferry; $17,000,000 for the South Carolina Judicial Department Case Docket System; $500,000 for the South Carolina Taxonomic Center; and $250,000 for the Charleston Bump.

$60,977,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $18,700,000 for Alaska Seals and Stellar Sea Lions; $2,000,000 for training village public safety officers; $1,100,000 for alcohol interdiction for bootlegging crimes; $1,000,000 for mobile computers for Wasilla police cars; $265,000 for a training academy driver simulator; and $150,000 for the Aleut Marine Mammal Commission.

$39,091,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), including: $8,000,000 for the Great Bay Partnership; $5,000,000 for the Institute for Security Technology; $3,000,000 for the continuation of the J-ONE Information Sharing System; $2,500,000 for construction of the Seacoast Science Center; and $100,000 for New Hampshire expansion of the Go-Girl-Go (GGO) Program. According to GGO’s website, “Across the country, the GoGirlGo! Grant and Educational Curriculum will enhance the wellness of girls as they navigate between childhood and early womanhood by using sport/physical activity as an educational intervention and social asset.” A former grant recipient is Lisa Leapers, which “is an after school jump roping sport’s team founded in 1999 and sponsored through the Community Schools Program in Alaska. The 40 girls that participate in this program conduct workshops, teach other kids to jump rope and perform at various sporting events over a 28 week period.” Where’s the hula hoop grant?

$38,500,000 for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations subcommittee member Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and the district of House appropriator Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), including: $5,750,000 for NOAA construction activities on the Chesapeake Bay; $4,500,000 for the NOAA Oxford Laboratory; $3,000,000 for the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation; $2,500,000 for the Alliance for Coastal Technologies; and $400,000 for a wireless high speed network for Prince George’s County.

$30,875,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and the district of House appropriator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), including: $5,000,000 for the Mississippi Center for Marine Education and Research; $3,300,000 for NOAA programs at Cedar Point; $2,500,000 for the Mississippi Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (at the end of 2003, the Institute reported revenues of $604,992 and expenses of $656,307; if this trend continues into 2005, the federal grant will be four times greater than its annual income); $2,500,000 for the Aquatic Research Consortium; $1,000,000 for the Southaven Police Department for radios/equipment; $600,000 for a height modernization study through NOAA; $400,000 for the Institutional Security Program at the University of Southern Mississippi; and $200,000 for the University of Mississippi TechLaw to offer online training.

$14,045,000 for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations subcommittee member Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the districts of House appropriators Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) and Anne Northup (R-Ky.), including: $7,925,000 from the National Weather Service archives, access, and assessments account; $600,000 for the Western Kentucky University Spotlight Youth Program; $400,000 for the Western Kentucky University Public Safety Program; $160,000 for equipment for the Mayfield Police Department; and $100,000 for Simpson County for improvements to the technology center.

$10,390,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and the district of House appropriator Tom Latham (R-Iowa), including: $1,500,000 for the Midwest Forensics Resource Center; $765,000 for the Highway Interdiction Team; $650,000 for the Science Center for Teaching, Outreach, and Research on Meteorology (STORM) Project at the University of Northern Iowa; $500,000 for Iowa State University (ISU) for a cyber crime program; and $200,000 for an Internet scale event and attack generation environment at ISU.

$10,150,000 for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations subcommittee member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and the districts of House appropriators George Nethercutt, Jr. (RWash.) and Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), including: $1,700,000 for the Northwest Fisheries Science Center; $1,500,000 for Maury Island (the chamber of commerce’s website boasts, “There is something special and magical about being on an island, the pace is slower, the people friendly, the attitudes relaxed. Whether you are petting a Llama, slowing for deer crossing the road or watching eagles soar, you're sure to love Vashon”); $500,000 for Bainbridge Island (Mayor Darlene Kordonowy brags that Bainbridge Island is a “unique place with a colorful history” and that “[w]e value the special contributions our residents make to the community — through the arts, the farms, and the numerous and active non-profit organizations. A vibrant entrepreneurial spirit is exemplified by the locally owned store fronts on Winslow Way, the neighborhood service centers and over 1,000 home-based businesses”); and $100,000 for Lake Washington Technical College.

$9,100,000 for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations subcommittee member Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and the district of House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member David Obey (D-Wis.), including: $3,000,000 for a geodetic survey; $950,000 for the Milwaukee County Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative; $500,000 for the Fox Valley Technical College DNA Training Initiative; $400,000 for Milwaukee Community Partners; and $150,000 for the Milwaukee Summer Stars Program.

$5,791,000 added by the Senate for the East-West Center (EWC) in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations subcommittee member Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii). According to the House report, “The Committee recommendation provides for phasing out the direct sole-source grant from the Federal government.” The Committee noted that EWC started receiving federal funds in fiscal 1961, and it could solicit contributions and compete for other grants to support its research and training activities. EWC finances various activities and workshops on topics such as communitybased forestry and premarital sex, and holds a biannual international fair with music, dance, crafts, and games. The organization has generous corporate contributors. The McInerny Foundation matches alumni donations 1:1, up to $100 each. The Hawaii Pacific Rim Society supports projects and programs such as the “Huun-Huur-Tu: Throat Singers of Tuva” performance in February 2004, and the “Masks of Southeast Asia” exhibition and performance-demonstrations in July and September 2004. The society has also provided a “generous contribution” to the Ariyoshi Fund to provide financial assistance to East-West Center students. The Bank of Hawaii finances “AsiaPacific Breakfast Briefings,” which are attended by Hawaiian business and community leaders, and the Center’s members who contribute $100 or more. EWC has received $66 million in pork-barrel spending since 1991.

$4,770,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), including: $1,500,000 for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Communications System; $750,000 for the National Judicial College; $735,000 for the Family Development Foundation in Las Vegas; $550,000 for the Henderson Emergency Operations Center; $200,000 for the Boulder City wireless communications canopy; $200,000 for the Computer Corp skills and knowledge acquired toward enhancing success; and $50,000 for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law and Immigration Clinic.

$4,400,000 for projects in the state of Senate Commerce Appropriations subcommittee member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), including: $1,750,000 for the Vermont Drug Task Force; $1,000,000 for equipment and planning for the Vermont Forensics Laboratory; $250,000 for Vermont northeast weather and wind data integration; and $100,000 for the Vermont Coalition of Teen Centers.

III. Defense

Defending the United States is the top priority of the federal government. With a deficit of $427 billion and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan costing more than $200 billion to date, congressional appropriators should be extremely careful with every defense dollar. Unfortunately, appropriators have ignored the national interest and used the Defense Appropriations Act as their own personal pork barrel. In fact, the number of projects jumped 25 percent from 2,077 in fiscal 2004 to 2,606 in fiscal 2005 while the total cost jumped 10.5 percent from $11.5 billion to $12.7 billion.

$404,175,000 for projects in the state of Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Daniel Inouye (DHawaii), including: $33,900,000 for the Maui Space Surveillance System operations and research; $23,000,000 for the Hawaii Federal Health Care Network; $7,000,000 for the Center for Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences; $6,400,000 for the digitization of technical and operations manuals; $5,000,000 for Hawaii energy and environmental technology research; $4,500,000 for the Center of Excellence for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance; $4,250,000 for Pacific Island health care referral; $3,400,000 for the Hickam Air Force Base Alternative Fuel Vehicle Program; $3,400,000 for Project Albert; $3,400,000 for strategic materials research; $2,700,000 for the Hawaii National Guard Counter-Drug Program; $2,100,000 for thin layer chromatography research; $2,600,000 for flood mitigation at Lualualei; $1,700,000 for Project Endeavor; $1,700,000 for the Pacific Rim Corrosion Research Program; and $1,100,000 for the Marine Mammal Research Program.

$305,516,000 added by the Senate for the DD(X). According to Inside the Pentagon (ITN), “At least three of the Navy's big-ticket shipbuilding programs face major affordability concerns that could force the department to cut costs by dropping or changing requirements, Inside the Navy reports. Navy officials will review the DD(X) destroyer, LHA(R) amphibious ship and MPF(F) prepositioning ship programs, ‘and any other large acquisition program where affordability is a major concern,’ according to an Oct. 18 internal memorandum from Vice Adm. Cutler Dawson, the Navy's top resources and requirements official. The memo, obtained by ITN, provides a brief account of cost concerns that could affect programs worth billions of dollars. Due to finish sometime in November, the review is part of early preparation work for the fiscal year 2007 budget process.”

$175,775,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $27,200,000 for Alaska Land Mobile Radio; $22,000,000 for Allen Army Airfield upgrades; $7,375,000 for the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Marine Facility Project; $5,500,000 for the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) (Initially designed to capture energy from the aurora borealis [northern lights], HAARP is now being configured to heat up the ionosphere to improve military communications. In 1997, University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute professor Syun-Ichi Akasofu stated that “To do what [has been talked] about, we would have to flatten the entire state of Alaska and put up millions of antennas, and even then, I am not sure it would work.” Not surprisingly, HAARP is also heating up the ire of many taxpayers. Since 1995, CAGW has identified $100.9 million appropriated for HAARP); $3,400,000 for Adak airport operations improvement; and $1,000,000 to restore Woody Island and historic structures. According to Alaska’s Department of Commerce website, Woody Island has an official population of “0” and is only occupied on a seasonal basis.

$60,400,000 for projects in the district of House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), including: $42,750,000 for range enhancements for joint national training capability military operations on urbanized terrain facility at Twentynine Palms and $4,250,000 for Norton Air Force Base through the Office of Economic Adjustment. Norton was closed by the first round of Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), and ceased most of its military operations by 1992. According to the Center for Land Use Interpretation, “The Air Force signed over the lease on the airport to the local redevelopment organization in 1999, though much of the rest of base remains in the Air Force’s hands as this ongoing clean-up and conversion process continues. Some businesses have moved on base, and some films have been shot there (including ‘Volcano’).”

$36,666,000 for procurement for the C-130J. According to the Associated Press in February 2005, “A 2004 report from the office of the inspector general of the Department of Defense rated the J model unsatisfactory and cited deficiencies in, among other things, its defensive systems.”

$5,000,000 for the Bayonne Military Ocean Terminal (BMOT). As part of the 1995 base closings, BMOT was finally closed on September 30, 1999. According to The Record, BMOT is now a port of call for Royal Caribbean cruise ships and has been used as a location for the film “A Beautiful Mind” and HBO’s “Oz.” Additional plans call for retail, industrial, office, and residential space. The Record notes, “For now, Royal Caribbean has renovated, to the tune of $8 million, one of the old warehouse buildings at the tip of the pier. They've paved parking space for 600 cars, with the ability to expand to 1,600, and will have facilities for Customs and INS officials, along with bus and taxi areas.”

$4,200,000 added by the Senate for the Academic Center for Aging Aircraft in the states of Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee member Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Senate appropriator Mike DeWine (R-Ohio). The Dayton Development Corporation, which requested the funds, has set up a template on how to apply for pork-barrel projects. According to the company’s website, “Be conservative in dollar amounts requested. Experience reveals that add requests exceeding $5 million may not be regarded as credible. Be sure that Add Requests support an Air Force need, which is related to requirements expressed in The Coalition's Wright-Patt 2010 Strategic Plan and is likely to be supported with appropriated funds within the next two fiscal years. Keep all Add Requests brief and to the point. Write in plain English using simple, little words. Use no acronyms; use no unique terminology. Make sure the recipient (an educated layperson, who is neither a specialist in, nor even acquainted with, what you are requesting) will be able to understand the request. Remember: SIMPLE and CONCISE!” So, members of Congress and taxpayers are just stupid pawns in the pork-barrel game.

$4,000,000 added in conference for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. According to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s (R-Tenn.) website, the money was earmarked to “help the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System plan for the additional 1,000 or more students that could be entering the Clarksville-Montgomery County schools this fall as a result of more than 850 soldiers and their families being reassigned to Fort Campbell.” This would be more appropriate for the Department of Education than the Department of Defense.

$2,000,000 added in conference for the “Secretary of Navy for the purpose of acquiring a vessel with the Coast Guard registration number 225115.” According to USA Today, this is the infamous presidential yacht provision slipped into the 2005 Omnibus Act: “$2 million for the government to buy back the presidential yacht USS Sequoia, sold in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter to demonstrate frugality.”

$1,500,000 added by the House for the Allen Telescope Array at the University of California, Berkley. This telescope is part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI). SETI’s website boasts about the telescope’s potential to help uncover extraterrestrial life and its strength as a radio telescope. The website fails to mention any defense-related mission, unless the telescope will alert us to an alien attack. It is no wonder that we have to look for intelligent life elsewhere after seeing how Congress spends our money.

$1,000,000 added by the Senate for Brown Tree Snakes. The Brown Tree Snake, which is found only in Guam, has not been discovered to be life-threatening to humans nor does it have the ability to survive in North America. The snake was first introduced to Guam in the late 1940s and continues to be a sore spot for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Commenting on the numerous earmarks that found their way into the fiscal 2005 Defense Appropriations Act, the senator zoned in on this project: “$1 million for the Brown Tree Snakes. Once again, the brown tree snake has slithered its way into our defense appropriation bill. I'm sure the snakes are a serious problem, but a defense appropriations act is not the appropriate vehicle to address this issue.”

$1,000,000 added by the Senate for the Griffith Observatory in the state of Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). According to its website, “The Observatory is a non-profit educational institution whose purpose is to provide information on astronomy and related sciences to the public. It is not a research institution, although from time to time it carries out modest research projects.” The website also boasts, “The Griffith Observatory has been a major Los Angeles landmark since 1935. It is visited by nearly two million people each year, which is almost half the annual attendance of the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Parks. The Observatory ranks seventh on the list of the major tourist attractions of Southern California.” There were no discernible defense-related activities listed on the website.

$200,000 added by the House for the Military-Civilian-Education and Sexual Health Decision-Making Program. According to Lt. Col. James Clapsaddle, “Congress intends that these funds are shared between the Army and Air Force. The Air Force funds will most likely be used to enhance AF efforts to reduce sexual harassment and reduce inappropriate sexual encounters among trainees and cadets.”

IV. District of Columbia

In November 2004, the residents of Ward 8 in Washington, D.C., elected former Mayor (and ex-convict) Marion Barry to the District of Columbia (D.C.) City Council. Shortly thereafter, the lame duck City Council acquiesced to Major League Baseball’s demands and guaranteed that 50 percent of the construction of the new $535 million baseball stadium would be financed by the city (read: taxpayers). On top of these burdens to the nation’s capital, Congress added 76 projects costing $32.5 million in fiscal 2005. That represents a 25 percent increase over the 61 projects and a 4 percent increase over the $31.2 million in pork in fiscal 2004.

$1,000,000 for the National Trust for Historic Preservation for capital development for the Lincoln Cottage. With National Trust revenues exceeding $62 million and assets of more than $180 million, there is plenty of money to proceed with this project rather than taking it from the taxpayers.

$900,000 for capital development for the Shakespeare Theatre. In an appeal for more donations, the theater’s website pleads, “Despite record-breaking attendance, ticket revenue and other earned income account for just half of the Theatre's $12 million operating budget. More than 300 corporations, foundations and public agencies along with more than 7,500 individuals generously provide the additional support required for the Theatre to fulfill its mission as the nation's leading force in producing and preserving classic theatre.” That could explain the theater’s revenue of $20.8 million and expenses of $11.4 million at the end of 2003. Their assets total $39.5 million. This theater should be Bard from receiving any more public funding.

$400,000 for the DC Commission on the Arts for the Main Street Arts Initiative.

$400,000 for educational outreach for the Washington Opera.

$250,000 for Eastern Market renovation.

$150,000 for the Dance Institute of Washington (DIW). DIW’s website boasts about its sponsors such as the Bank of America, the Fannie Mae Foundation (let’s hope DIW has better accountants) and the Ludacris Foundation. One would think that with such wealthy benefactors, this would be a multimillion dollar venture. Not so; at the end of 2002 DIW’s revenue was only $813,000. If income is similar this year, the $150,000 federal grant would be 18 percent of DIW’s total revenue. Now, that is truly ludicrous.

$100,000 for the Bach to School Program. Maybe they should give Bach the money.

$80,000 for the Fort Dupont Hockey Club kids at-risk program. This public skating rink rents ice time to individual skaters for $3 an hour, to ice hockey teams for $220 per hour, and to nonprofits for $125 per hour. Birthday parties are also welcome. According to its website, the rink has “a long standing proposal into the National Park Service to expand the facility to allow for another skating pad, new lockers rooms and showers and other additional space needs.” Next thing you know, taxpayers will be bailing out the National Hockey League.

V. Energy and Water

The fiscal 2005 Energy and Water Appropriations Act overflowed with pork projects. Appropriators funded nearly every creek, bay, and inlet from the coast of California to the shores of Florida. This year, the number of projects swelled to 1,417, an increase of 130 percent from 617 in fiscal 2004. The total cost rose by 163 percent, from $714 million last year to $1.88 billion this year.

$148,375,000 for projects in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Zack Wamp (R-Tenn.): $130,775,000 for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge ($50,000,000 for operations; $50,000,000 for construction of the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility; $30,000,000 to accelerate security infrastructure upgrades and consolidate the facility footprint; and $775,000 for an engineering and design, energy reliability and efficiency laboratory); $17,000,000 for the Chickamauga Lock (Rep. Wamp lobbied for the funding, and in an August 22, 2004 Knoxville Sun-Sentinel article, stated that “If we don't maintain the waterway system and the infrastructure of navigation, it will directly hurt the economy.” Knoxville-based Gulf & Ohio Railways Chairman Pete Claussen disagreed, pointing out that “there is so little traffic today from the Chickamauga lock up through Knoxville that the lock renovation is not needed. ‘The problem is that there's going to be an investment of $350 million at least for the Chickamauga lock. This region could use $350 million for education and high tech investments…rather than making it a little cheaper to haul sand and gravel up the river…People say it's a shame to abandon this infrastructure, but…it's not the end of the world….It's certainly not critical to anybody's economy. You can always save someone money by subsidizing their transportation…I would love it if the government subsidized my locomotion’”); and $600,000 for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga SimCenter.

$107,900,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Harry Reid (D-Nev.), including: $33,750,000 for the University of Nevada-Las Vegas ($7,000,000 for the Research Foundation for the Advanced Fuel Cell Initiative, $3,000,000 of which is to be used for collaborative studies of “deep burn” fuel cycles; $5,000,000 for the Renewable Hydrogen Fueling Station System; $4,500,000 for the evaluation of solar-powered, thermochemical production of hydrogen; $4,000,000 for the Research Foundation to continue research and development of high temperature heat exchangers and chemical processing equipment; $3,000,000 for hydrogen storage and fuel cells; $2,500,000 for the Research Foundation to support ongoing programs of the Institute for Security Studies; $2,000,000 for the Research Foundation to continue to establish an operation within the Institute for Security Studies to combat terrorism; $1,500,000 for photonics research and development; $1,000,000 for an ongoing administration infrastructure support grant for the Research Foundation; $750,000 for the Solar Technology Center; $750,000 for the University Medical Center; $750,000 for the Research Foundation to establish and certify a radioanalytical services laboratory to support emergency management training activities; $500,000 for the School of Public Health; and $500,000 for a radiochemistry research facility); $12,500,000 for the University of Nevada-Reno ($3,500,000 for the development of state-of-the-art chemical, biological, and nuclear detection sensors; $3,000,000 for magnetized high energy density matter research at the Nevada Terawatt Facility; $2,500,000 for the Fire Sciences Academy; $1,000,000 for geothermal research; $1,000,000 for an optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier upgrade and operations of the short pulse laser; $1,000,000 to continue collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories on highly diagnosed studies of exploding wire arrays; and $500,000 for the ThermoEnergy Research Project); and $150,000 for construction at McCarron Ranch.

$75,372,000 for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and the district of House appropriator Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), including: $25,000,000 for the Marmet Lock on the Kanawha River; $9,000,000 for the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory Training Facility at Camp Dawson ($5,000,000 for planning, design, and construction and $4,000,000 for physical improvements); $6,600,000 for Bluestone Lake dam safety; and $59,000 for Island Creek at Logan.

$66,563,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), including: $11,000,000 for the Mental Illness and Neuroscience Discovery Institute in Albuquerque; $8,000,000 for the Los Alamos County Schools Program; $1,400,000 for the Jemez Canyon Dam; $500,000 for the Santa Fe Water Reclamation and Reuse Project; $500,000 for the Albuquerque Metro Area Water and Reclamation Reuse Project; $75,000 for the Albuquerque Biopark; and $75,000 for Route 66. Sen. Domenici is gettin’ his kicks at the taxpayers’ expense.

$52,280,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), the district of House Energy and Water Subcommittee Chairman David Hobson (R-Ohio), and the districts of House appropriators Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), including: $22,000,000 for 27 environmental infrastructure water, wastewater, and sewer projects; $3,000,000 for the Edison Materials Technology Center in Dayton to develop improved materials to support the hydrogen economy; $2,000,000 for the Ohio Riverfront in Cincinnati; $1,000,000 for the Ohio Agricultural Research Development Center and the city of Wooster for anaerobic digestion research; $100,000 for the Cuyahoga River bulkhead study in Cleveland; and $50,000 for Cleveland Lakefront State Park.

$51,132,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations subcommittee member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and the district of House appropriator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), including: $36,693,000 for Yazoo River and Basin projects; $3,750,000 for the Mississippi Environmental Infrastructure Program; $3,000,000 for the Mississippi Technology Alliance Alternative Energy Enterprises Program; $1,500,000 for the Mississippi State University Biodiesel from Feedstock Project; $1,060,000 for Pascagoula Harbor ($550,000 for operation and maintenance, and $510,000 for construction); and $100,000 for Okatibbee Lake.

$43,813,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and the district of House appropriator David Vitter (R-La.), including: $11,450,000 for the J. Bennett Johnston Waterway ($9,000,000 for construction and $2,450,000 for operation and maintenance. A January 9, 2000 Washington Post article stated that the waterway “still carries less than 0.1 percent of the commercial traffic on America's government-run river transport system — even though it receives a remarkable 3.4 percent of the system's federal funds.” In 2003, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the $2 billion worth of construction costs won’t be justified until 2046); $2,000,000 for a sugar-based ethanol biorefinery at Louisiana State University; and $500,000 for Livingston Parish alternative fuel plant construction.

$33,257,000 for projects in the state of Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), including: $3,000,000 for the Idaho Accelerator Center in Pocatello; $500,000 for the Dworshak Dam and Reservoir in Orofino for site improvements and environmental compliance efforts; $175,000 for Indian Creek Ecosystem restoration in Caldwell; $155,000 for the Boise River; and $50,000 for the Little Wood River.

$33,173,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska): $31,148,000 for 49 Army Corps of Engineers construction, and operation and maintenance projects for Alaska’s waterways (which represents 94 percent of the total Energy and Water Alaska pork); $1,500,000 for the Alaska Wind Energy Project; $325,000 for the Pacific Northwest Bi-National Regional Energy Planning Initiative; and $200,000 for the Alaska Wood Biomass Project in Ketchikan. The Sealaska Corporation oversees this wood-to-ethanol project, and built a $43 million facility to attempt to turn Alaska’s southeast old-growth (Tongass) timber and timber scraps into ethanol for use as a gasoline additive. The project has been in existence for many years and has yet to produce any significant results.

$10,200,000 for projects in the district of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young (R-Fla.): $10,000,000 for Pinellas County beach restoration and $200,000 for St. Petersburg Harbor.

$8,750,000 added by the House for the Calumet region in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.): $5,000,000 for the Little Calumet River Basin at Cady Marsh Ditch; $3,000,000 for environmental infrastructure; $500,000 for the Little Calumet River; and $250,000 for the Grand Calumet River Remedial Action Plan. The remedial plan includes “installation of a sediment barrier to prevent recontamination; dredging; placement of material to create a natural meandered channel; stabilization of the bank by re-contouring and planting; and evaluation of the project by monitoring for 3 years.” The Army Corps of Engineers estimated the total cost at $900,000, with the federal government providing $585,000. But Congress has already appropriated $650,000 since fiscal 2003 for the project.

VI. Foreign Operations

As the world continues to cope with the devastation caused by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Americans and their government are generously providing hundreds of millions of dollars in relief. The dark side of foreign aid is the tidal wave of pork projects that has been added to appropriations bills, money that could have been used to save lives instead of protecting the incumbency of members of Congress. The number of projects decreased by 10 percent, from 20 in fiscal 2004 to 18 in fiscal 2005. But the cost of the pork increased by 5.4 percent, from $449.8 million to $473.9 million.

$200,000,000 added by the Senate for the Commodity Import Program (CIP) for Egypt. According to a 2004 Government Accountability Office report, “The CIP provides loans to Egyptian importers of U.S. goods and, through loan repayments, supplies funds to the government of Egypt. During fiscal years 1999-2003, about 650 Egyptian firms used the CIP to import $1.1 billion in U.S. products from approximately 670 U.S exporters. In a 2003 USAID survey, about two-thirds of CIP importers said that they would have imported U.S. goods without the program, but half said that it helped increase their firm's production capacity and onethird said that it helped increase their firm's employment levels.” Looks like a pyramid scheme to us.

$10,000,000 added by the House for the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) in support of the Anglo-Irish Accord. This U.S. contribution to the fund is to be spent on “those projects that hold the greatest potential for job creation and equal opportunity for the Irish people.” Such projects have included building a replica of the Jeanie Johnston (a Canadian ship that once ferried famine victims across the Atlantic), a national water sports center used for coaching top-level athletes, golf videos, and exporting sweaters. Through war and peace, rain and shine, surplus and deficits, IFI receives funding, accumulating $439 million since 1986.

$1,700,000 for the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) in the state of Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and the district of House appropriator Robert Cramer (R-Ala.). Since 1997, Congress has shoveled $15.7 million to IFDC in Muscle Shoals through the U.S. Agency for International Development. The IFDC was founded in 1974 with the vision of helping in “the quest for global food security.” The Muscle Shoals facility has also been asked to research how the world’s food supply would be impacted if production of ammonium nitrate was banned, and research fertilizer used for explosives. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) praised IFDC: “I believe it is one of the most effective programs our government has to improve the world. Dollar for dollar, there is nothing we do that will ease world hunger more than teaching underdeveloped nations modern farming techniques and how to wisely use fertilizer.” And here we thought all of the fertilizer research was being conducted underneath the Capitol.

$1,000,000 added by the Senate for the U.S. Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI). The real purpose of USTTI is to increase the foreign markets of the telecommunications industry. According to Research and Markets 2004 Telecommunications Review and Forecast, “While segments of the U.S. telecom industry have faced intense economic challenges, overall spending in the U.S. rose by 4.9 percent in 2003…Over the 2004-2007 period, the U.S. telecommunications industry will increase at a projected 9.2 percent compound annual rate, rising to $1 trillion.”

VII. Homeland Security

Although the first Homeland Security Appropriations Act in fiscal 2004 wasn’t pork-free, appropriators showed some restraint. This year, members got serious about spending, saturating the fiscal 2005 bill with 64 projects, a 256 percent increase over last year’s 18 projects. The fiscal 2005 pork price tag reached $1.72 billion, a 306 percent increase over fiscal 2004’s $423 million.

$104,000,000 added for the Port Security Grant Program. The grants are provided “for projects to improve dockside and perimeter security that is vital to securing our critical national seaports. These awards will contribute to important security upgrades such as surveillance equipment, access controls to restricted areas, communications equipment, and the construction of new command and control facilities.” The department requested $46,000,000 for the program, but both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees added funds. Despite appropriating more money, the House Appropriations Committee was “concerned that port security grants made to independent terminal operators are not coordinated at the State, local port authority, or Captain of the Port levels. Therefore, the Committee directs that…the coordination of all port security grants with the State, local port authority, and the Captain of the Port, to ensure all vested parties are aware and that the limited resources are maximized.”

On September 13, 2004, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the recipients of the fourth round of port security grants. Premier Yachts, Inc., a private for-profit company with revenues of $40 million in 2003, was awarded three port security grants totaling $208,100. Premier offers “fine dining and entertainment cruises” through its Odyssey, Mystic Blue, and Seadog Cruises in Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Nothing like wining and dining at the taxpayers’ expense.

$40,000,000 added for university programs and the Homeland Security Fellowship Program. The fellowship scholarships are intended for students interested in pursuing scientific and technological innovations that can be applied to the department’s mission. The students participate in 8 to 10 week internships at DHS-designated laboratories and facilities. In 2003, the program’s first year, 101 students participated in the program. Several students applied for government positions after completion of the program. Of the 101 students in the program, only two were hired by DHS. In 2004, 105 students were enrolled.

The university programs seek to expand scientific and technological knowledge by establishing Homeland Security Centers of Excellence. Currently, there are four centers; the oldest is at the University of Southern California (USC), which received $12,000,000 over three years. USC has 40 professors, who decide how much each research assistant will receive; in some cases, assistants get enough to cover their full tuition. The University of Maryland received a $12,000,000 grant in January 2005 for a program with eight professors, but has yet to offer any degree or professional program pertaining to homeland security.

These programs have received $100,000,000 in pork over two years. In fiscal 2004, DHS requested $10,000,000 but appropriators doled out $70,000,000. In fiscal 2005, DHS requested $30,000,000 but received $70,000,000.

$14,000,000 added by the House for a covert surveillance aircraft for the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard currently has fixedwing aircraft for long-range surveillance activities and doesn’t plan to procure new planes until 2016. However, the House Appropriations Committee believed that “this void must be addressed now,” and appropriated the funds despite the Coast Guard’s stated lack of urgency.

$10,000,000 added by the Senate for intercity bus security grants. The funds will support “critical security needs” such as passenger/baggage screening programs, driver protection and training, and communications technologies. The Senate also added $10,000,000 for intercity bus security grants in fiscal 2004. There was no budget request for the grants in either year. Greyhound Lines, Inc. received bus security grants on August 27, 2004 totaling $1,603,084. Company revenues in 2003 totaled $975.5 million. Approximately 22 million passengers ride Greyhound annually, meaning that each passenger would have to pay an extra $.07 to equal the taxpayers’ contribution.

$5,400,000 added by the Senate for the Office of Legislative Affairs at DHS. Although there was a budget request for the office, the House Appropriations Committee refused funding, stating that “over the past 16 months, the Committee has been extremely disappointed with the work of this Office….[It] fails to provide timely and comprehensive information to Members and staff regarding the Department’s legislative strategy; fails to return phone calls; fails to be available during critical stages of the legislative process for both authorization and appropriations matters; and fails to follow up on requests for information and meetings….In short, the Office continues to show complete disregard for the legislative branch of government….The Committee believes that funding a central Office of Legislative Affairs is redundant and wasteful.”

$5,000,000 added by the House for the U.S. Secret Service National Special Security Event Fund. The Secret Service helps coordinate major events, such as the presidential inauguration, national political conventions, international summits like the 2004 G-8 conference, the Olympics when hosted by the United States, and even Super Bowls. There’s nothing patriotic about spending our tax dollars to protect the New England Patriots.

VIII. Interior

Following the trend of ever-growing appropriations bills, the fiscal 2005 Interior Appropriations Act was bursting with pork, totaling $680 million, a 52 percent increase over last year’s $446 million. Total projects increased by 17.5 percent, from 473 in fiscal 2004 to 556 in fiscal 2005.

$90,975,000, or 13.4 percent of the total pork dollars, for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $11,000,000 for sales preparation, maintenance, and pre-commercial thinning of the Tongass National Forest; $9,500,000 for Alaska conveyance (which has received $29,300,000 since fiscal 2000); $7,420,000 to replace the Eielson Visitor Center at Denali National Park; $3,242,000 for the Base Volcano Monitoring Program in Shemya; $900,000 for the Marine Mineral Technology Center; $790,000 for the Bering Sea Fisherman’s Association; $739,000 to build a historical resource support center to protect the museum collection at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park; $392,000 for Alaska legal services;$150,000 for the Alaska Whaling Commission; and $98,000 for the Alaska Sea Otter Commission.

$41,537,000 for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), including: $10,000,000 for the Blackfoot Challenge (a landownerbased group that coordinates management of the Blackfoot River) at Helena and Lolo National Forests; $5,000,000 for the Blackfoot River watershed; $1,500,000 for a fuels-in-schools biomass program; $1,350,000 for research on whirling disease (a “potentially fatal condition” affecting trout caused by a microscopic parasite); $1,000,000 for the Undaunted Stewardship Program; $500,000 for the Rocky Mountain Technology Foundation; and $400,000 for the Union Pacific Dining Lodge.

$22,553,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the districts of House Interior Appropriations subcommittee members John Peterson (R-Pa.) and Don Sherwood (R-Pa.), and the districts of House appropriators John Murtha (DPa.) and Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), including: $11,059,000 for the Gettysburg National Military Park; $1,085,000 for the Kinzua Wolf Run Marina at Allegheny National Forest; $300,000 for Washington and Jefferson College historic buildings; $250,000 to increase tourism at Allegheny National Forest; $250,000 for Troy High School; $200,000 for the Harmony Engine Company Firehouse; $100,000 for the State Theatre; and $49,000 for the Johnstown Area Heritage Association.

$18,066,000 for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and the district of House Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), including: $4,275,000 for the New River Gorge National River; $3,400,000 for Harpers Ferry National Historic Park; $1,086,000 for molecular biology and a water resource study at Leetown Science Center; and $1,000,000 for freshwater mussel recovery and the Wild Fish Propagation Center at White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery.

$10,451,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), including: $2,600,000 for the Pinnacles National Monument near San Jose; $1,600,000 for the Mojave National Preserve (The funds will be used to move the belongings of five ranchers who have moved out of the area in recent years. The National Park Service will “relocate” items such as household goods, windmills, tanks and troughs. There’s still one rancher left on the preserve who refuses to move); $1,000,000 for the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge; and $540,000 for the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge.

$9,850,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Robert Bennett (RUtah), including: $5,000,000 for the Utah Public Lands Artifact Preservation Act (which received $3,000,000 in fiscal 2004); $1,800,000 for the Bonneville Shoreline Trail; $750,000 for Sand Hollow Recreation Park (a popular “playground” for people with dune buggies, dirt bikes, and 4-wheelers); $600,000 for the Sleeping Rainbow Ranch at Capitol Reef National Park; and $400,000 for the Utah Rural Development Council.

$8,750,000 added for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and the districts of House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Norm Dicks (DWash.) and House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee member George Nethercutt, Jr. (R-Wash), including: $2,000,000 for Mt. Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument emergency readiness preparations and activities for the 25th anniversary celebration (which will occur on May 18, 2005); $1,700,000 for Mount Rainier National Park; and $300,000 for the Bremerton Building 50 Naval Museum.

$4,550,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations subcommittee member Thad Cochran (RMiss.), including: $1,000,000 for the Wildlife Enterprises Program at Mississippi State University; $750,000 for the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science; and $150,000 for the slave market at Natchez National Historic Park. Currently, a historical marker designates the market’s location. The city received a $130,000 grant from the state Archives and History Department (AHD) to purchase and renovate the market site, but needed additional funds to build the anticipated interpretive center. In an October 28, 2003 Clarion-Ledger article, AHD Director Elbert Hilliard stated that “the plan all along has been for us to strive to get that property authorized for acquisition by the National Park Service.”

IX. Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) got it right in a November 20, 2004 press release: “[E]very year, it’s the same thing — Congress passes spending bills loaded with pork projects.” The fiscal 2005 Labor/HHS Appropriations Act is the poster child for the appropriators’ excess. Of the 3,071 projects, 98 percent were added in conference; the total is a 57.4 percent increase over the 1,951 projects in fiscal 2004. The projects cost $1.69 billion, an increase of 79.6 percent over fiscal 2004’s $943 million.

$114,660,000 added in conference for 544 projects, or 17.7 percent of total Labor/HHS pork, in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the districts of House Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee members John Peterson (R-Pa.) and Don Sherwood (R-Pa.), and the districts of House appropriators John Murtha (D-Pa.) and Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), including: $27,551,000 for 89 hospitals and health centers; $17,513,000 for 75 college and university programs; $2,565,000 for 33 abstinence education programs; $950,000 for the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia to develop educational programs focusing on hands-on learning experiences (the museum has received $5,195,000 since fiscal 2001); $350,000 for the Inner Harmony Foundation and Wellness Center ($250,000 for the Wellness Center in Clarks Summit for a community health program, and $100,000 for the Foundation in Scranton for curriculum development. The Wellness Center offers classes such as acupuncture, meditation, and yoga, and “cultivates awareness and empowers individuals”); $100,000 for the Pennsylvania Hunting & Fishing Museum in Warren to develop curriculum for conservation education; and $50,000 for the Philadelphia Foundation for a Sports and Entertainment Career Expo to expose high school students to career opportunities in the sports industry.

$72,952,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the districts of House Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee members Randy Cunningham (RCalif.) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), and the districts of House appropriators John Doolittle (R-Calif.), Jerry Lewis (RCalif.), and Sam Farr (D-Calif.), including: $1,300,000 for the Monterey County Probation Department in Salinas for a gang prevention and intervention program; $1,250,000 for the American Film Institute’s Screen Education Program; $250,000 for the Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena to develop a Shake Zone Education Exhibit; $200,000 for the Motion Picture and Television Funds (MPTF) in Woodland Hills for a physical and occupational therapy facility (on its website, MPTF boasts “you may think of us as the actor's retirement home, but we are also so much more”); $150,000 for education programs at the GRAMMY Foundation in Santa Monica (revenues for the U.S. motion picture and sound recording industries reached $78 billion in 2003); $150,000 for the Lady B. Ranch in Apple Valley for a Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program; and $100,000 for the Tiger Woods Foundation for at-risk youth programs in Los Alamitos. Tiger won $1,854,000 in his first two victories of 2005, while the foundation has net assets of nearly $32.6 million.

$66,335,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $34,500,000 for the Denali Commission ($10,000,000 for a psychiatric treatment facility in Bethel; $10,000,000 for residential and supportive housing for elders; $7,000,000 for job training; $5,000,000 to upgrade and construct shelters; and $2,500,000 for medical and dental equipment for rural clinics); $2,000,000 for the Fairbanks North Star Borough to relocate the district’s kitchen facilities; and $100,000 for the Southeast Island School District to develop two-way interactive video conferencing to provide special education services at nine isolated school sites.

$64,038,000 for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), the district of House Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ralph Regula (R-Ohio), and the districts of House appropriators David Hobson (R-Ohio) and Marcy Kaptur (DOhio), including: $625,000 for the International Center for the Preservation of Wild Animals in Cumberland for an educational program; $350,000 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland (which has received $750,000 since fiscal 2002) for music education programs; $250,000 for the Taft Museum of Art (the museum just reopened after a $22.8 million, two and a halfyear renovation, which “the Ohio Arts Council helped fund…with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency...supports the operating expenses of the Taft Museum”); and $150,000 for the Medina County Office of Workforce Development for training of individuals in careers associated with homeland security.

$59,425,000 added in conference in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Kay Bailey Hutchison (RTexas), the district of House Labor/HHS subcommittee member Kay Granger (R-Texas), and the districts of House appropriators Henry Bonilla (R-Texas), John Culberson (R-Texas), and Chet Edwards (D-Texas), including: $20,000,000 for Project GRADUSA, Inc. in Houston for the school reform program; $200,000 for the Medical Institute for Sexual Health in Austin, to develop a sexual health curriculum; $100,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (which has assets of $13.8 million) in Austin for a Lance Armstrong Foundation Survivorship Center; $85,000 for the Annette Strauss Institute in Austin for a civics education project; and $50,000 for the Today Foundation in Dallas for the Imagination Station Literacy Program to deliver reading curricula over the Internet using animation.

$56,528,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and the district of House appropriator Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.), including: $20,000,000 for West Virginia University to construct a Biomedical Science Research Center; $4,000,000 for Mountain State University to construct the Allied Health Technology Tower; $2,000,000 for Marshall University for a mobile medical unit that will provide pediatric care to children in rural areas of Wayne, Lincoln, and Cabell Counties; $1,050,000 for the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation ($550,000 for the development of a technology-based teacher professional development model and $500,000 for an information technology training program); and $135,000 for the Kanawha County Board of Education in Clendenin for the Herbert Hoover High School Technology Project.

$48,854,000 added in conference in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Harkin (DIowa) and the district of House appropriator Tom Latham (RIowa), including: $15,000,000 for the Iowa Department of Education to continue the Harkin Grant Program (according to a September 4, 2004 press release, “Since 1998, Iowa schools have received a total of $101 million in Harkin Grants, the only federal program of its kind”); $3,000,000 for the Iowa Department of Public Health to initiate the Harkin Wellness Grant Program; $1,000,000 for the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines, for the development of exhibits for the World Food Prize; $235,000 for the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls to support youth fitness and obesity efforts for rural preschool children; $200,000 for the Iowa Games to continue the Lighten Up Iowa Program (the games are held by the Iowa Sports Foundation [ISF], which claims on its website that “the ISF receives no state or government financial support.”); and $100,000 for National History Day for a history competition in Iowa.

$42,441,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), the district of House Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.), and the districts of House appropriators Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) and Mark Kirk (RIll.), including: $1,000,000 for Southern Illinois University in Carbondale for the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, including an endowment; $300,000 for the Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago for arts education programs; $250,000 for the Science in Your World Program at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago; $200,000 for the Family First Support Center in Waukegan; $200,000 for the “Explore and Soar” Education Program at the Children’s Museum in Oak Lawn; and $95,000 for Springfield School District #186, for a middle school history experience.

$34,830,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and the district of House Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), including: $3,000,000 for the University of Mississippi in Oxford for curriculum development and to enhance the development of young men and women to make future contributions to Mississippi and the nation; $1,000,000 for the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation (appropriators didn’t include the second half of the organization’s title, the “Thad Cochran Center”); $500,000 for the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, for the Hardy Middle School After School Program; $500,000 for the Institute for Furniture Manufacturing and Management at Mississippi State University; $315,000 for Mississippi State University, Starksville, for digital production for the Wise Center Broadcast Facility; and $100,000 for the Holly Springs Regional Technology Center.

$21,210,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo.) and the district of House appropriator Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), including: $1,540,000 for the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis, for the establishment and maintenance of an archive for materials relating to the Congressional career of the Honorable Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) (there are nearly 700 boxes of material to sort through, and the society’s website touts that “scholars and history buffs seeking a political insider’s view of Washington, D.C.’s operations will have the opportunity to study valuable historical source material from the career of former Democratic leader Representative Richard Gephardt”); $1,400,000 for the Springfield Regional Arts Council for arts education; $250,000 for Powell Gardens in Kingsville, to teach students about water conservation and plant science; and $125,000 for Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield for digitization of archives and rare-book collections at the Meyer Library.

$17,140,000 added in conference for projects in the district of House Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Anne Northup (R-Ky.), including: $14,500,000 for the University of Louisville ($10,250,000 for the Baxter III Research Building; $2,000,000 for equipment for the Regenerative Medicine for the Treatment of Ischemic Hearth Disease Project; $700,000 for the Center for Research-based Educational Improvement and Assessment; $500,000 for the Computational Biology Project in Oral Health; $450,000 for the Cancer Agripharmaceutical Institute; $300,000 for the Center for Cancer Nursing Education and Research; and $300,000 for the Chronic Disease Management Education Program in Cancer); and $50,000 for the DePaul School in Louisville for computer equipment. The $17,140,000 is 53 percent of the total of $32,340,000 in Labor/HHS Kentucky pork.

$15,800,000 added in conference for projects in the district of House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member David Obey (D-Wisc.), including: $9,000,000 for facilities and equipment for the Marshfield Clinic Melvin R. Laird Center for Applied Science; $700,000 for the Northwest Concentrated Employment Program for the Talent Profiling System; and $75,000 for the Community Dental Care Foundation in Wausau, to provide dental screening and sealants for children.

$12,346,000 added in conference for projects in the districts of House Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and House appropriator James Walsh (R-N.Y.), including: $5,000,000 for Syracuse University to establish and support an endowment for the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute; $200,000 for both the Rosmond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra for educational programs; $100,000 for the Westchester Philharmonic in White Plains for music education programs; and $50,000 for the Andrus Children’s Center for the Yonkers Early Childhood Initiative.

$11,565,000 added in conference for projects in the state of Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations subcommittee member Harry Reid (DNev.), including: $1,000,000 for the Charter School Development Corporation in Las Vegas to focus on technology and college preparation; $250,000 for the Nevada Cancer Institute to create the Lance Armstrong Foundation Cancer Survivorship Center (the center in Texas apparently isn’t enough); and $25,000 for the Clark County School District for curriculum development to study mariachi music. A February 6, 2005 Los Angeles Times article stated that “Clark County Supt. Carlos Garcia calls the program ‘fabulous’ and expects it to expand to more schools. There are tentative plans to offer a Mexican folk dancing program next year.” Ay Dios Mio!

$1,500,000 for Eckerd College in St. Petersburg in the district of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young (R-Fla.): $1,000,000 to upgrade educational computing and technology and $500,000 for leadership training programs. The programs are part of the college’s Leadership Development Institute and its network associate, the Center for Creative Leadership. The institute has a long list of corporate participants (including JP Morgan, Citibank, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Pentagon, and Tropicana), and the center “has delivered internationally acclaimed programs to thousands of local, national, and international clients.

$450,000 added in conference for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown for educational outreach using baseball to teach students through distance learning technology in the district of Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.). Its website states that “baseball has connections to a variety of academic disciplines, including mathematics, history, geography, technology, sociology, cultural diversity, character education, economics, women's history.” The hall of fame has received $1,569,000 since fiscal 2001 for educational outreach programs. The Baseball Hall of Fame; a commission to examine steroid use among professional baseball players — looks like Congress put fiscal conservatism on the bench and is throwing the taxpayers a bunch of junk.

$35,000 added in conference for a weight loss demonstration program for 1,000 federal employees at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. The program will use the latest technology, including a private automated weigh station to track participants’ progress; daily email support on nutrition and exercise; and education and detailed instruction on exercise techniques, meal ideas and motivational success stories. We wonder if “pork” will be a daily requirement on the meal plans.

X. Legislative Branch

Appropriators added a few juicy tidbits to this year’s Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, like film preservation funding and a House staff fitness facility. The total number of projects decreased by 10.5 percent, from 19 in fiscal 2004 to 17 this year. Also, total pork decreased by 6.8 percent, from $23 million in fiscal 2004 to $21.3 million in fiscal 2005.

$3,270,000 added by the Senate for start-up operations at the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). The project is the poster child for government waste, with costs swelling 111 percent, from $265 million to an estimated $559 million. The CVC is expected to be finished by 2006 and will include grandiose displays touting Congress’s self-importance. A dining hall and gift shop will be added, but taxpayers probably will not want to spend any more of their money on this boondoggle.

$3,000,000 added by the House for a House staff fitness facility. Staffers will be able to work off all that pork at taxpayers’ expense, despite the close proximity of two private gyms.

$500,000 added by the Senate for the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. The commission includes well-known pork-barrelers such as Senate appropriator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and House appropriator Ray LaHood (R-Ill.).

$500,000 added by the Senate for a grant to the Library of Congress’s National Film Preservation Board and the National Film Preservation Foundation in San Francisco, Calif. Film studios are financing film preservation and restoration efforts, and the motion picture industry revenues hit a record $64 billion in 2003. The House did not provide funding for this project because the grant authorization expired. The Senate’s largess is enough to keep the taxpayers reeling.

XI. Military Construction

Appropriators paid a little more attention to the Pentagon’s priorities than their parochial pork in the fiscal 2005 Military Construction Appropriations Act, but taxpayers still paid for too many wasteful projects. Total earmarks decreased by 28 percent, from 199 to 143, and the total amount of pork decreased by 5 percent, from $1 billion in fiscal 2004 to $974 million in fiscal 2005.

$23,150,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (DW. Va.): $13,000,000 for a C-5 airport parking apron/hydrant system at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport in Martinsburg; $6,000,000 for a fire crash rescue station at Yeager Air National Guard Base; and $4,150,000 a C-5 flight simulator at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport in Martinsburg.

$20,500,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee member Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii): $8,000,000 for Phase IIB of the Pohakuloa Training Area Saddle Road Access Project; $7,500,000 for the Advanced Electro-Optical System Primary Mirror Coating Facility at the Maui Space Surveillance Site; and $5,000,000 for electrical upgrades at Hickam Air Force Base.

$17,160,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and the districts of House appropriators George Nethercutt, Jr. (R-Wash.) and Norm Dicks (D-Wash.): $8,200,000 for the Fort Lewis Army Chapel (which offers diverse services for Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even Wiccans); $6,970,000 for Phase I of the lab consolidation at Bangor Naval Base; and $1,990,000 for a dangerous materials storehouse at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

$16,867,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee member Tim Johnson (D-S.D.): $9,867,000 for the Ellsworth Air Force Base Operations Center and $7,000,000 for a squadron operations facility at Joe Foss Field in Sioux City. Besides serving as home to South Dakota’s 114th Fighter Group, Joe Foss Field is also a regional airport. In an April 28, 2004 press release, Sen. Johnson stated that “as a member of the Senate Appropriations committee, it is always great to see funding going back to the state.…Joe Foss Field is a major conduit for our state. It is necessary to keep the airport in appropriate working condition for the continued economic development of the region.”

$14,300,000 for projects at Dyess Air Force Base in the district of House Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Chet Edwards (D-Texas): $11,000,000 for a fire crash rescue station and $3,300,000 for a base refueling vehicle maintenance shop. $10,386,000 added by the Senate for projects in the state of Senate Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee member Conrad Burns (R-Mont.): $5,600,000 for a corrosion control facility at Malmstrom Air Force Base and $4,786,000 for the Dillon Readiness Center. In a May 17, 2004 press release, Sen. Burns explained his pork requests, stating that “improvements like these also serve to additionally insulate our bases from threat of closure during the next round of BRAC [Base Realignment And Closure].”

$9,500,000 added by the Senate for a dining hall/airmen’s center at Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis in the state of Senate appropriator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). The new facility will also include a postal center and laundry exchange. Let's hope that Sen. Domenici will both clean up his act and go on a pork-free diet.

$7,250,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the districts of House Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee member Anne Northup (R-Ky.) and House appropriator Harold Rogers (R-Ky.): $3,500,000 for an aquatic training facility at Fort Campbell; $1,900,000 for an urban assault course at Fort Knox Army Base; and $1,850,000 for a “shoot house” (a facility that allows fire teams and squads to practice building-entry and room-clearing techniques under live-fire conditions) at Fort Knox Army Base.

$6,700,000 added by the House in the district of House Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee member Sam Farr (DCalif.) for construction of the Presidio of Monterey Dental Clinic at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) in Monterey, Calif. The clinic will serve personnel at the DLI and Naval Postgraduate School.

XII. Transportation, Treasury, General Government, and Related Services

Appropriators continued to drive away with frivolous pork projects in fiscal 2005, funding everything from statehood/city celebrations to street lighting improvements. In its second year of consolidation, the Transportation/Treasury Appropriations Act was less costly to taxpayers, totaling $4.16 billion in fiscal 2005, a decrease of 5.5 percent from last year’s total of $4.4 billion. However, the number of pork projects increased by 10 percent, from 2,039 in fiscal 2004 to 2,243 in fiscal 2005.

$209,500,000 for projects in the state of Senate Transportation/Treasury Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and the districts of House Transportation/Treasury Appropriations subcommittee member Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) and House appropriator Robert “Bud” Cramer (D-Ala.), including: $35,000,000 for the Auburn University Transportation Technology Center; $10,000,000 for the Alabama State Docks Intermodal Facility; $10,000,000 for the Tuscaloosa downtown revitalization; $2,000,000 for Gees Bend Ferry; and $800,000 for the Gadsden Coosa River Boardwalk.

$134,425,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), including: $25,000,000 to rehabilitate the Alaska Railroad (this project has received $162,000,000 since fiscal 1996); $4,900,000 for wind/weather research in Juneau; $2,000,000 for recreational improvements to the Seward highway; $1,500,000 for a transit intermodal depot at the Anchorage Museum; $1,000,000 for Emmonak street lighting; and $250,000 for the University of Alaska for the 50th anniversary celebration of Alaska’s statehood. According to a December 2004 Sun Star article, Sen. Stevens asked for $1.3 million for the January 2009 celebration, but he had to settle for one-fifth of his request — for now.

$122,730,000 for projects in the state of Senate Transportation/Treasury Appropriations subcommittee member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and the districts of House appropriators John Peterson (R-Pa.), Don Sherwood (R-Pa.), John Murtha (D-Pa.), and Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), including: $10,000,000 for the Schuylkill Valley MetroRail in Philadelphia (which has received $45,500,000 since fiscal 1999); $6,000,000 for the Ardmore Transit Center; $4,000,000 for the 26th Street extension at the Philadelphia Naval Business Center; $3,000,000 for improvements to Route 412 in Bethlehem; $2,500,000 for the AltaVista Business Park entrance; $2,000,000 for the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation Project; $1,000,000 for the American Parkway Project; $750,000 for a downtown signalization project in Mechanicsburg; $600,000 for the Hopwood Village Streetscape Project; and $350,000 for the Muhlenberg Township Route 222 Corridor Initiative. The initiative would revitalize downtown Muhlenberg by creating “a boulevard-style street design” and “streetscape amenities to promote walk ability.”

$120,059,000 for projects in the state of Senate Transportation/Treasury Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and the districts of House appropriators George Nethercutt, Jr. (R-Wash) and Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), including: $5,000,000 for King County Metro Clean Air buses; $3,750,000 for the Tacoma Rail Train to the Mountain Project (according to a January 7, 2005 Tacoma News Tribune article, the project idea has been around since 1990, and “the excursion train remains a theory…there’s an economic benefit to Tacoma…but [supporters] can’t do it without a clear benefit to the [Mount Rainier National] park”); $1,750,000 for Kitsap County to buy a ferryboat; $1,100,000 for the Maritime Domain Awareness Pilot Project; $1,000,000 for the Enumclaw Welcome Center; $1,000,000 for the Washington State Produce Rail Car Program; and $250,000 for the Walla Walla surplus federal property study.

$95,350,000 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and the district of House appropriator Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), including: $15,000,000 for the King Cole Highway in Mingo County; $15,000,000 for Corridor H; $3,000,000 for improvements to U.S. Route 35 in Mason County; $1,400,000 for West Virginia University’s Exhaust Emissions Testing Initiative; $750,000 for the I-95/West Virginia Drive Interchange; and $200,000 for streetscape improvements in Berkeley Springs. Berkeley Springs, a cozy little mountain town just two hours from Washington, D.C., offers visitors “state-of-the-art spas, unique shops and local arts, all surrounded by West Virginia's splendid outdoors.”

$51,150,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and the district of House appropriator Tom Latham (R-Iowa), including: $3,500,000 for the Council Bluffs East Beltway; $2,000,000 for the Des Moines Riverwalk (which received $1,000,000 in fiscal 2004 and is expected to cost a total of $26.5 million); $2,000,000 for the MLK, Jr. Parkway in Des Moines; $1,100,000 for the Bettendorf Interstate 74 bridge; $1,000,000 for improvements to US Highway 6 in Coralville (the beneficiary of $50 million for an indoor rainforest in fiscal 2004); $1,000,000 for a bus facility in Ames; and $500,000 for a Highway 92 study in Warren County.

$47,900,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and the district of House appropriator David Vitter (R-La.), including: $3,000,000 for the Greater Ouachita Port and Intermodal Facility; $2,200,000 for airfield lighting at Monroe Regional Airport; $1,500,000 for the West Baton Rouge Emergency Communications Center; $1,000,000 for the Leeville Bridge in Lafourche Parish; $800,000 for Phase I land acquisition and project design for the Bastrop-Morehouse Memorial Airport; and $500,000 to replace the Prospect Street Bridge in Houma.

$47,616,000 for projects in the state of Senate appropriator Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), including: $5,000,000 for the Billings North Bypass Project; $5,000,000 for fishing access roads at Fort Peck Reservoir;

$3,700,000 for Claggett Hill Road/Lewis and Clark ferryboat facilities; $3,000,000 to replace the air traffic control facilities at Billings Airport; $1,250,000 for terminal remodeling and expansion at Helena Regional Airport; $400,000 for West Fork Road at Red Lodge; and $191,000 for pedestrian and bicycle trails in Whitefish, a “local playground for water sports enthusiasts.”

$39,950,000 for projects in the state of Senate Transportation/Treasury Appropriations subcommittee member Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and the district of House Transportation/Treasury Appropriations subcommittee member Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), including: $5,000,000 for the Southern Maryland Commuter Bus Initiative; $1,500,000 for WMATA clean fleet buses; $1,000,000 for the Baltimore City Intelligent Transportation System; $1,000,000 for the Rockville Town Center Transit Project; $1,000,000 for the St. Mary’s College of Maryland pedestrian overpass; and $500,000 for B&O Railroad Museum restorations (which received $872,000 in fiscal 2004).

$35,861,500 for projects in the districts of House Transportation/Treasury Appropriations subcommittee members Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) and Anne Northup (R-Ky.), including: $3,500,000 for Louisville Waterfront Park path improvements; $2,500,000 for the University of Louisville Bus Shuttle Program; $2,500,000 to relocate Kit Cowan Road at Somerset Airport; $1,000,000 for the Somerset Downtown Revitalization Project; and $260,000 for work on the Ohio River Levee Trail in Jefferson County.

$20,000,000 for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. $11,000,000 for projects in the district of House appropriator Marion Berry (D-Ark.): $5,000,000 for the relocation of Highway 226 in Jonesboro; $2,000,000 for work on US 412 Mountain Home to Highway 101; $1,000,000 for work on US 412 Paragould to Big Slough Ditch; $1,000,000 for rail grade separation on Highway 165 in Stuttgart; $1,000,000 for development of a parallel runway at Baxter County Regional Airport; and $1,000,000 for the Caraway Overpass Project in Jonesboro. $5,460,000 for projects in the district of House Transportation/Treasury Appropriations subcommittee member James Clyburn (D-S.C.), including: $1,600,000 to acquire and install an instrument landing system at Walterboro Municipal Airport; $1,500,000 for North Main Street improvements in Columbia; and $1,000,000 for King Street and Spring Cannon Corridor redevelopments in Charleston.

$3,250,000 added in conference for the Jamestown 2007 celebration in the district of Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-Va.): $3,000,000 for federal lands near Jamestown and $250,000 for a ferryboat for the festivities. Jamestown 2007 is being touted as “a collection of entertaining, educational, cultural and commemorative signature events, programs and community activities aimed at reaching millions of Americans live and via broadcast while drawing worldwide attention to Jamestown and Virginia — our nation's birthplace.” Appropriators added two other Jamestown 2007 projects: $100,000 in the Labor/HHS Appropriations Act for the Jamestown 2007 Commission to develop curriculum for the 400th anniversary and $400,000 in the Interior Appropriations Act for the National Park Service.

$300,000 added by the House for Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) in the district of Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.). ART whisks visitors to the city’s fun-filled destinations, including Disneyland, Disney’s California Adventure, and the Anaheim Convention Center. The “fleet's dynamic, resort-themed appearance along with its specially trained uniformed drivers heighten the resort district's branding and make it easy for guests to identify the ART product.” ART received $500,000 in last year’s Transportation/Treasury Appropriations bill. What a goofy project. $200,000 added in conference for the National Student/Parent Mock Election in Tucson, Ariz. Founded in 1982, the organization is dedicated to making “students and parents aware of the power of their ballot by actively involving them in a full-fledged campaign and national election.” The program is run by volunteers at the state and local level, and provides free materials and events. Run by volunteers, paid for by the taxpayers — what a great lesson to teach our children.

$200,000 for the Help America Vote College Program. The program was initiated by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to recruit and train poll workers, specifically college students, for the November 2, 2004 presidential election. The program also trains volunteers to assist with other local and state elections. Participating students cannot promote specific views or candidates while volunteering. Speaking of voting, the fiscal 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which funded this program, was not passed until November 20, 2004, 18 days after the November 2 election.

XIII. Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies

The amount of money appropriators can waste through the VA/HUD Appropriations Act is as vast as their imaginations. Even though the Department of Housing and Urban Development did not request any funding for specific projects in the Economic Development Initiative Program, appropriators added 1,039 projects totaling $264 million. The pork list includes a swank hotel in Coral Gables, Fla. and the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn. After the bill had been greased, the total number of projects increased by 16 percent over fiscal 2004, from 1,774 to 2,113. Total pork decreased by 11.9 percent, from $1.1 billion to $1 billion.

$61,429,250 for projects in the state of Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and the district of House VA/HUD Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), including: $4,296,600 for the Vandalia Heritage Foundation, Inc. (which happened to be created by Rep. Mollohan); $2,037,000 for Glenville State College for the construction of a new campus community center and the planning and design of a new science center; $1,250,000 for the McDowell County Commission for infrastructure and site development at Indian Ridge Industrial Park; $750,000 for Beckley for downtown revitalization; $657,000 for the Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation in Lewisburg for facilities construction; $97,000 for the Strand Theatre Preservation Society in Moundsville for theatre renovations; $97,000 for the Tyler County Commission for facilities construction and renovations; and $72,750 for the Wetzel County 4-H Camp in Martinsville for facilities renovation and buildout.

Historical Trends

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