Congress Serves Up $17.2 Billion in Pork

Tax time is approaching and millions of Americans are facing tough economic times, but that hasn't stopped Congress from loading spending bills with pork.

This year's "Pig Book" from the nonprofit Citizens Against Government Waste details some of these congressional earmarks : $7.5 million spent on grape and wine research; $460,000 for research on hops; and $72,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation in Edgefield, S.C., to name just a few.

"When the Democrats took over, they said they were going to cut the number and cost of earmarks in half," said Tom Schatz, president of the watchdog group. "That simply hasn't been done."

Schatz calls the desire for pork a bipartisan problem. "Members of Congress argue about a lot of different issues, but they don't disagree all that much about pork-barrel spending and earmarks."

Congressional members stuffed 11,610 spending projects -- the second highest total ever -- to benefit their home districts into the 2008 fiscal year budget.

All told, Congress has set aside $17.2 billion in earmarks -- a 30 percent increase from last year.

And none of that spending goes through the normal vetting process. Much of it is not specifically authorized, competitively awarded or the subject of congressional hearings.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., offered an amendment this year to impose a one-year moratorium on earmarks. It failed, 71-29. After the Senate made clear its intentions to pursue pork, members of the House eagerly joined the hunt. So many last-minute requests for earmarks were made that a House Appropriations Committee Web site froze and the deadline was extended.

"As a result of the massive influx of requests being submitted today, the Appropriations Committee Web site is experiencing unavoidable access and processing delays," the staff director for the committee wrote to members of Congress. "In order to accommodate member offices attempting to input data, any request submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March 24, will be considered as having been submitted 'on time' for purposes of consideration by the committee."