Health Care

pattygreen · August 11, 2010

$3,000,000 by Senate appropriator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), and Reps. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) for the New Jersey Technology Center. According to Rep. Holt’s letter of request to the House Appropriations Committee, the earmark will be used for “creating a Technology Center that will utilize workers displaced as a result of Ft. Monmouth’s closure.” According to Fort Monmouth’s website, the majority of the organizations and personnel currently at Fort Monmouth will re-locate to other military facilities. This earmark provides no closure for the taxpayers.

$2,400,000 by House appropriator David Price (D-N.C.) and Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) for the secure open source initiative. According to Rep. Miller’s letter of request to the House Appropriations Committee, the earmark will be used for “a national Secure Open Source Institute (SOSI) at North Carolina State’s University Centennial Campus focused on making open source systems more secure, trusted, and efficient through conducting research, developing automated testing tools, providing qualification services, and incubating new open source businesses.” The federal government has a vendor neutral procurement policy regarding proprietary and open source software, which allows agencies to choose one type of software or a combination of both to meet its requirements. Members of Congress should not be picking one type of software over another by earmarking funds for open source projects.

$1,200,000 by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House appropriator Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) for the American Museum of Natural History for infectious disease research. Funding museum research in a defense bill really bugs taxpayers.

$500,000 by Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) for a Brown Tree Snake program. Since 1996, 15 projects worth $15.1 million have been earmarked for interdiction of Brown Tree Snakes, which are still slithering through the appropriations bill.

IV. Energy and Water

Continuing the trend from fiscal year 2009, dollar totals in the fiscal year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Act declined dramatically. The total cost of projects was 45.5 percent less than fiscal year 2009, falling from $2.2 billion to $1.2 billion. Since fiscal year 2008, the cost of Energy and Water pork has declined by 68.4 percent. The number of projects decreased by 1.9 percent, from 957 in fiscal year 2009 to 939 in fiscal year 2010.

$80,722,000 for 18 projects by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), including: $22,413,000 for the Mississippi Delta headwaters project at Yazoo Basin; $10,000,000 for Mississippi environmental infrastructure; $10,000,000 for the Sustainable Energy Research Center; $2,000,000 for a cooling, heating, power (micro chip), and biofuel application center; and $1,200,000 for the Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium.

$52,267,000 for 29 projects by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), including: $1,200,000 for the Alternate Energy School of the Future; $1,000,000 for Clark County Parks and Recreation for renewable energy initiatives; $1,000,000 for the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy at the University of Nevada, Reno; $800,000 for a program researching algae-based renewable energy for Nevada; and $200,000 for the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone tribe demonstration energy park.

$51,693,000 for 13 projects by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), including: $15,000,000 for North Dakota environmental infrastructure; $7,000,000 for the Center for Biomass Utilization; $5,000,000 for the Center for Nanoscale Energy; $4,000,000 for fossil fuel research and development; $3,000,000 for the National Center for Hydrogen Technology; and $1,900,000 for energy work force development in North Dakota.

$51,250,000 for 12 projects by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Robert Bennett (R-Utah), including: $20,000,000 for Army Corps of Engineers construction projects in rural Utah; $8,000,000 for the Utah Center for Ultra Clean Coal Utilization and Heavy Oil Research; $3,500,000 for unconventional and renewable energy research utilizing computer simulations; $1,000,000 for the Arthur V. Watkins Dam feasibility study; and $600,000 for enhancement of the Intermountain Center for River Restoration and Rehabilitation.

$39,109,000 for 56 projects by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), including: $2,800,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers general investigation of the South San Francisco shoreline; $1,878,000 for Army Corps of Engineers operation and maintenance at Crescent City Harbor; $1,406,000 for Army Corps of Engineers operation and maintenance at Marina del Rey; $969,000 for shoreline erosion control development and demonstration; $90,000 for a breakwater study of Long Beach; and $90,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers general investigation of Redwood City Harbor.

$35,387,000 for 11 projects by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), including: $21,750,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers construction project at Island Creek; $3,000,000 for the Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems; $1,793,000 for a comprehensive study of the Ohio River basin; $1,417,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers construction project at Greenbrier River basin; and $538,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers general investigation at the Cherry River basin.

$31,237,000 for 36 projects by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), including: $3,000,000 for research at the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology; $1,000,000 for solar panels in municipal-owned buildings; $750,000 for algae to ethanol research and evaluation; $500,000 for floodplain maps for Manalapan and Matchapon lakes; $180,000 for the municipal building energy efficient window replacement program; and $90,000 for alternative long-term nourishment of the New Jersey shoreline.

$24,413,000 for 20 projects by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), including: $6,000,000 for a Hawaii renewable energy development venture; $6,000,000 for development of high yield feedstock and biomass conversion technology for development of high yield tropical feedstocks and biomass conversion; $181,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers general investigation of Maalaea Harbor; and $13,000 for modifications to Barbers Point Harbor.

$17,917,000 for 16 projects by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), including: $2,906,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers construction project at Shoalwater Bay; $2,846,000 for a special study of the Odessa subarea; $2,000,000 for algae biofuels research; $1,000,000 for development of the biofuels industry in Washington; $880,000 for the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center at the University of Washington; and $462,000 for an Army Corps of Engineers general investigation of the Elliott Bay Seawall.

$17,692,000 for 14 projects by Rep. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), including: $6,000,000 for an energy sustainability program; $500,000 for a regional sediment management demonstration program in southeast Oahu; and $100,000 for a rainfall analysis in Hawaii.

$4,900,000 for seven projects for smart grid technology projects by Senate Appropriations Committee member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), House appropriator Adam Schiff (D- Calif.), and Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas), Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), Betsy Markey (D-Colo.), Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), Jared Polis (D- Colo.) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.). The stimulus bill last year allocated $4 billion of taxpayer money for enhancing smart grid technology. While the purpose of smart grid technology is to reduce energy waste, it is not smart to waste tax dollars on these projects.

$1,800,000 by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) for a climate model evaluation program. According to a February 14, 2010 FoxNews.com article about funding for climate change research, “Last year’s budget provided $2.0 billion for the climate science program, a figure that doesn’t include the half a billion in stimulus money that the White House directed to global warming, as Obama’s science adviser recently told Congress.” Regardless of the debate over the issue of climate change, there should be a limit on how much Congress spends on this type of research.

$1,500,000 by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), House appropriator Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), and Rep. James Langevin (D-R.I.) for fuel cell research at Brown University. According to Brown’s website, in 2008 the university had an endowment of $2.7 billion. Congress should not be directing taxpayer dollars to projects at institutions that can easily afford to spend their own money.

$1,250,000 by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) for research into the long-term environmental and economic impacts of the development of a coal liquefaction sector in China. Sen. Byrd has directed $2,070,150 to this project over the past three years.

$1,000,000 by Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member John Tester (D-Mont.), Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), and House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee member Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.) for wind turbine development. It doesn’t take Sancho Panza to see that tilting the taxpayers’ money at windmills is quixotic.

$500,000 by Reps. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), Jane Harman (D-Calif.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), and Diane Watson (D-Calif.) for street lighting fixtures for an energy efficiency retrofit project. During a time of high unemployment and record deficit spending, using taxpayer money on street lighting fixtures is a surefire way to darken the nation’s fiscal situation.

pattygreen · August 11, 2010

V. Financial Services

The number of projects in the Financial Services Appropriations Act increased by 2.3 percent, from 264 in fiscal year 2009 to 270 in fiscal year 2010, while the dollar amounts decreased by 55.4 percent, from $145.9 million in fiscal year 2009 to $65 million in fiscal year 2010. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has long been a bastion for pork, and this trend continued in fiscal year 2010 as the agency was the target of 260 projects, or 96.3 percent of the earmarks, and $58.8 million, or 90.4 percent of the total in the bill.

$4,300,000 for nine projects by Senate Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), including: $700,000 for a workforce development initiative at Haymarket Center in Chicago; $500,000 for the McLean County Business Incubator at Illinois State University; $300,000 for a program for the Illinois State Library to expand access to Illinois public libraries; and $200,000 for a small business development center at Shawnee Community College.

$4,283,375 for nine projects for financial literacy/education programs by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Senate Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee member Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), and House appropriators John Olver (D-Mass.) and Steven Rothman (D-N.J.), including: $3,150,000 for a financial education and pre-home ownership counseling demonstration project; $305,875 for a national program to improve financial literacy for the Girl Scouts of the USA; $250,000 for financial and technical assistance for the Western Massachusetts Enterprise Fund; and $100,000 for employment and financial counseling and assistance for Project Ezrah Needs, Inc. A Congress that can’t balance the nation’s budget should not be dictating where money should go to teach financial literacy.

$984,000 for four projects for trade centers by Senate appropriator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), House appropriator Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.), and Reps. Henry Brown (R-S.C.), David Dreier (R-Calif.) and Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.): $400,000 for the Wichita EcoPartnership for the Kansas World Trade Center; $350,000 for the Pomona Fairplex Trade and Conference Center; $134,000 for the Montana World Trade Center; and $100,000 for the Myrtle Beach International Trade and Conference Center.

$250,000 by Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) for the Pennval Road Green Technology Incubator for the Township of Woodbridge. According to Rep. Lance’s letter of request to the House Appropriations Committee, the earmark will be used to “help redevelop a brownfields site on Pennval Road and establish a Green Technology Incubator as a means of attracting economic development and encouraging job growth in the Township and the region.” In April 2009, Rep. Lance won the distinction of being named a Porker of the Month for breaking his no earmark pledge with the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste.

$200,000 by House appropriator Marion berry (D-Ark.) for the Arkansas Commercial Driver Training Institute at Arkansas State University-Newport. The corporate headquarters for two of the nation’s largest trucking companies, J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. and ABF Freight Systems Inc., are located in Arkansas. According to Forbes.com, J.B. Hunt had sales of $3.8 billion in 2008. Funding a commercial driving school in a state with a large and profitable trucking industry is driving taxpayers crazy.

$200,000 by Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) for education training and other small business assistance at the Bodega Association of the United States, Inc. Rep. Rangel had a selective memory when he filed his financial reports; unfortunately he did not forget to file his earmark requests.

$125,000 by House appropriator Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) for Pace University Lienhard School of Nursing in White Plains for a nursing workforce education and training initiative. According to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics website, “Employment of Registered Nurses (RNs) is expected to grow much faster than the average and, because the occupation is very large, 581,500 new jobs will result, among the largest number of new jobs for any occupation. Employment of registered nurses is expected to grow by 22 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations.” With the industry facing strong growth prospects, there is no reason for Congress to nurse the taxpayers for scarce resources.

$100,000 by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) for the City of Bardstown for a downtown streetscape economic development project. According to Rep. Guthrie’s letter of request to the House Appropriations Committee, the earmark will be used for “a new Water main for the city’s downtown area.” While there should not be any SBA earmarks, the fact that a water main earmark for an infrastructure project exists in this bill, rather than in the EDI section of the THUD bill, really does soak the taxpayers.

$100,000 by Rep. Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) to the Florida Department of Citrus in Lakeland for an abscission chemical for improved citrus harvesting. Rep. Putnam is retiring from Congress and running for Florida Agriculture Commissioner. According to his campaign website, he worked in his family’s citrus and cattle business prior to being elected to Congress. It appears that Rep. Putnam is steering money to an industry that he and his family benefit from as well as one that he will oversee as Commissioner of Agriculture. It appears that every parochial or personal interest is ripe enough for Congress to squeeze money from the taxpayers.

$50,000 by Sens. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) for an export assistance webinar series for business education at the World Trade Center Institute in Delaware. According to the center’s website, corporate sponsors include Citizens Bank, which is a $148 billion commercial bank holding company. With help from companies like Citizens, there is no reason for U.S. citizens to get stuck with the check.

pattygreen · August 11, 2010

VI. Homeland Security

After declining over fiscal years 2008 and 2009 from its peak in fiscal year 2006 at $2.7 billion, Homeland Security pork increased in fiscal year 2010. Every dollar spent on earmarks adversely affects the internal security of the nation. The number of projects in the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Act increased by 53.1 percent, from 113 in fiscal year 2009 to 173 in fiscal year 2010, while the dollar amount increased by 5.7 percent, from $229.6 million in fiscal year 2009 to $242.8 million in fiscal year 2010.

$102,142,500 for 90 projects for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) State and Local Programs by 111 members of Congress, spread among 35 states, including towns such as Brigantine, New Jersey (population 12,647); Boerne, Texas (population 10,283); Alamosa, Colorado (population 8,745); and Shorter, Alabama (population 374). The amount directed to this program in fiscal year 2010 represents a 357.1 percent increase over the $22,345,000 spent in fiscal year 2009. Through State and Local Programs, FEMA attempts to prepare state and local governments to respond to incidences of terrorism or other catastrophic events. All of the funds should be distributed based on threat level priorities, rather than being based in part on which members of Congress are best at getting earmarks.

$39,700,000 by Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), for the Advanced Training Center. Sen. Byrd earmarked $39,700,000 for the center in both fiscal years 2008 and 2009, bringing the three-year total to $119,100,000. A July 7, 2006 CongressDaily article cited the duplicative nature of the Advanced Training Center: “But now at least one senior House Republican wants the expansion of the center stopped, saying it is not needed and is creating redundancies to training provided at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center [FLETC], which is headquartered in Glynco, Ga…Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., whose district includes the Glynco headquarters, said in an interview he will work to remove funding for the [CPB] Advanced Training Center expansion. ‘If it survived the Senate, we would work hard to get it killed in conference committee,’ said Kingston, vice chairman of the House Republican Conference. Kingston has been a staunch supporter of FLETC and said he is confident it can handle the training needs for CBP. ‘I don’t see any need for this advanced training center,’ he said.”

$24,636,064 for 58 projects for FEMA Predisaster Mitigation by members of Congress in 26 states, including towns such as La Grange Park, Illinois (population 13,000); and Brooksville, Kentucky (population 600). According to FEMA’s website, the purpose of the Predisaster Mitigation Program is to provide funds on a competitive basis to states, territories, Indian tribal governments, communities, and universities for hazard mitigation planning and implementation of mitigation projects prior to a disaster. The recipient of the grant decides based on applications what entity is most deserving within its jurisdiction. Many members of Congress have criticized FEMA for its mismanagement of numerous programs over the past several years. However, they are making the agency’s job harder by forcing staff to administer projects that may not meet the competitive program’s criteria and usurping the agency’s authority.

$10,000,000 by House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) for the National Institute for Hometown Security (NIHS). According to its website, NIHS was organized in “2004 through the leadership of Kentucky Fifth District Congressman Harold ‘Hal’ Rogers. Congressman Rogers suggested organizing the higher education institutions of Kentucky to more effectively compete for research funds and projects aimed at improving homeland security. The Kentucky Homeland Security University Consortium resulted from his efforts. NIHS is the administrative manager for the Consortium.” In other words, the $10 million earmark is intended to help Kentucky’s colleges and universities seek and obtain earmarks. Rep. Rogers earmarked $11,000,000 for the NIHS in fiscal year 2009, bringing the two-year total to $21,000,000. The institute’s total revenue was $3.5 million at the end of 2007.

$800,000 by House appropriator Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.) to Global Solar Energy for the portable solar charging rechargeable battery system. According to its website, Global Solar Energy is the only “…manufacturer in full-scale production of CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide) PV cells on a flexible substrate.” The company claims, “Due to its highly efficient nature, and low cost of materials, CIGS has been called the wonder child, or market darling, of thin film photovoltaic (TFPV) materials business. Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets projects the CIGS PV market will grow from $403.1 million in 2011 to $2.6 billion in 2016. (Materials Markets for CIGS Photovoltaics, Jan. 2009).” When taking into account the growth industry in which the company operates, it should not receive any taxpayer assistance.

pattygreen · August 11, 2010

VII. Interior

The most noteworthy aspect of the Interior Appropriations Act is the Save America’s Treasures (SAT) program. Despite opposition from the current and previous administrations, SAT continues to be a prime spot for earmarks. President Obama’s Terminations, Reductions, and Savings supplement to the fiscal year 2011 budget stated that, “Although SAT and PA [Preserve America] programs use merit-based criteria to evaluate annual nominations for projects, the programs have not demonstrated how they contribute to National historic preservation goals. The programs lack rigorous performance metrics and evaluation efforts, so benefits remain unclear. At least half of SAT funding is provided without using merit-based criteria.”

While there are practically the same number of earmarks in the Interior Bill this year (548 in fiscal year 2010 compared to 543 in fiscal year 2009), the cost is $361.1 million, a 16.7 percent decrease from the $433.7 million in fiscal year 2009.

$43,650,000 for 24 projects by Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), including: $10,000,000 for Emissions Reduction Grants to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) and San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District (two of the AQMD’s projects featured on its website are the “2010 Lawn Mower Exchange Program” and “How to create an eco-friendly kitchen”); $8,000,000 for Hunters Point Naval Shipyard environmental cleanup; $2,500,000 for United States Forest Service, Region 5, small forest products infrastructure assistance grants; $1,000,000 for land acquisition at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area; $1,000,000 for the Angel Island Immigration Station; and $900,000 for the Manzanar National Historical Site.

$14,816,000 for 13 projects by Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), including: $2,800,000 for land acquisition at the Monongahela National Forest, Dolly Sods Conservation Area; $1,521,000 for road improvements for the Monongahela National Forest; $1,025,000 for construction at the New River Gorge National River; $850,000 for trails at the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge; $750,000 for the National Conservation Training Center; and $200,000 for the Capitol Theater in Wheeling. Jerry Seinfeld is scheduled to appear at the theater on April 22 with tickets ranging from $48 to $78, making this an earmark about nothing.

$9,850,000 for 13 projects by Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Robert Bennett (R-Utah), including: $2,500,000 for land acquisition at Dixie National Forest (according to March 3, 2010 Los Angeles Times, “Utah legislators are proposing a novel way to deal with federal land -- seize it and develop it. The Utah House of Representatives last week passed a bill allowing the state to use eminent domain to take land the federal government owns and has long protected from development.”); $500,000 for Draper City for construction of a culinary reservoir; and $150,000 for the Historic Fisher Mansion Restoration Project. According to realestatenewsutah.com, “Donning a derby and three-piece suit, Mayor Ralph Becker announced the city has secured $150,000 from the Interior Department’s ‘Save Our Treasures’ program to begin renovating the city-owned Fisher Mansion… ‘We’re going to be cobbling together resources to preserve and restore this building,’ Becker said about beer baron Albert Fisher’s former home. He also reminded guests one of his first moves as mayor was to reverse course on the planned surplus sale of the mansion. ‘This is a community treasure.’”

$8,045,000 for seven projects by House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), including: $4,000,000 for the Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative at the University of Washington; $1,000,000 for the Seattle-Tacoma Regional Urban Forestry restoration project; and $180,000 for Schooner Adventuress restoration. According to Sound Experience, the nonprofit that operates the Adventuress, the ship “provides programs April through October. Approximately 3,000 youth and adults board her each year to learn her history, Puget Sound’s and the ways we can work together to protect the environment in which she sails. The program is actively supported by hundreds of volunteers who help crew for school groups, public day sails, week long trips and continue the work of historic preservation and restoration.”

$7,965,000 for eight projects by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.), including: $2,265,000 for the Ice Age National Scenic Trail ($2,000,000 for land acquisition and $265,000 for construction); $2,000,000 for the Apostle Islands Lighthouse restoration; and $150,000 for restoration of the Bayfield historic courthouse.

$7,690,000 for 14 projects by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), including: $2,000,000 for construction at the California National Historic Trail Interpretive Center; $1,700,000 for the Water Research Foundation (at the end of 2007, it had a fund balance of $17 million); $350,000 for Lahontan cutthroat trout; and $200,000 for the Lincoln County Courthouse, Pioche. According to the Pioche Chamber of Commerce’s website, the city “enjoys old-west charm, mild summertime temperatures, fine trout fishing, hunting, and some of Nevada’s most scenic state parks. Pioche is an old town by western standards, with many of the buildings predating the turn of the 19th century. We are far enough from the beaten track to escape the blatant commercialism that has plagued many tourist towns, but yet we do have enough facilities to handle the modest summer crowds. Boot Hill, the million-dollar courthouse, the Thompson Opera House, and the town museum are must stops for visitors interested in the town’s past.”

$6,250,000 for 13 projects by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), including: $2,000,000 for construction at the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge for a visitor center/office; $900,000 for the Center for Marine Resources and Environmental Technology; and $500,000 for the Madison County Courthouse.

$3,800,000 for six projects by House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), including: $1,600,000 for the Sawtooth National Recreation Area trail ($1,200,000 for construction and maintenance and $400,000 for land acquisition); $1,000,000 for the Idaho Sage-Grouse Management Plan (according to the March 5, 2010 Baltimore Sun, “The Interior Department declared today that an iconic western bird deserves federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, but declined to offer that protection immediately - a split-decision that will allow oil and gas drilling to continue across large swaths of the mountainous West. ... For practical purposes, the ruling leaves sage grouse protection largely in the hands of states.”); and $150,000 for Historic Old Pen Site Stabilization Project.

$1,000,000 by Senate appropriator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) for the Sewall-Belmont House in Washington, D.C., which holds private events, offers catering, and is visited by tourists who are encouraged to leave donations.

$150,000 by House appropriator Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) for restoration of the Sterling Opera House.

$150,000 by House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) for restoration of Cottrill’s Opera House. According to the Vandalia Heritage Foundation, “The building’s owner, Alpine Heritage Preservation, will reuse the facility primarily as a live performance theatre with other complementary uses, returning the Cottrill’s Opera House to its role as a focal point of the Thomas community.” According to the May 11, 2006 State Journal, “The Vandalia Heritage Foundation and its sister group the Vandalia Redevelopment Corp. have come under fire recently. Like the High Tech Consortium, the two Vandalia non-profits were created by Mollohan and received millions of dollars in federal earmarks and grants in recent years. The Vandalia groups were established to rehabilitate and reuse historic buildings in northern West Virginia. The groups are run by one of the congressman’s former aides, Laura Kurtz Kuhns.”

VIII. Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor/HHS)

Always a prime repository for pork, the fiscal year 2010 Labor/HHS Appropriations Act experienced a decline in projects and cost compared to fiscal year 2009. Project totals declined by 16.9 percent, from 2,153 in fiscal year 2009 to 1,789 in fiscal year 2010, while the cost declined by 18.6 percent, from $1 billion in fiscal year 2009 to $813.8 million in fiscal year 2010. The first five senators listed below brought home $254,573,000, or 31 percent of the total pork in the bill.

$99,182,000, or 12.2 percent of the total of $813.8 million, for 67 projects by Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), including: $7,287,000 for the Iowa Department of Education to continue the Harkin Grant program ($32,633,000 has been earmarked for this program since 2005); $500,000 for exhibits at the Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids; $500,000 for exhibits at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque; $400,000 for Orchestra Iowa to support a music education program; $400,000 to the AIB College of Business in Des Moines to continue recruiting and training captioners and court reporters and to provide scholarships to students; and $300,000 for the Iowa CareGivers Association in Des Moines for training and support of certified nurse assistants.

Sen. Harkin has long been a determined crusader for pork. In a November 25, 2006 New York Times article, he claimed, “I happen to be a supporter of earmarks, unabashedly. But I don’t call them earmarks. It is ‘Congressional directed spending.’”

$65,537,000 for 55 projects by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), including: $450,000 for preserving and digitizing recordings at the modern political library archives at the University of Mississippi; $300,000 for Delta State University for music education in rural areas; $300,000 for the American Music Archives at the University of Mississippi; $150,000 for Piney Woods School for science and technology curriculum development; $100,000 to archive newspaper and digital media at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College; $100,000 for science education exhibits and outreach programs at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation; and $100,000 for the Delta Arts Alliance for arts education and curriculum development.

Perhaps the preeminent Congressional porker, Sen. Cochran has never been one to shy away from sticking his hooves in the taxpayer’s pockets. In a March 17, 2010 Politico article, Sen. Cochran claimed that he won’t be pressured into forgoing earmarks for one year just because House Republicans are doing so, stating, “I don’t have any guilt trips.”

$45,861,000 for 44 projects by Senate appropriator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), including: $550,000 for curriculum development and equipment purchasing at Caldwell College; $500,000 for purchasing equipment and curriculum development at Fairleigh Dickinson University (which has an endowment of $23,150,084); $300,000 for exhibits and educational programming at the Morris Museum in Morristown; and $150,000 for the West New York Board of Education to launch an alternative fuel education program and to purchase equipment.

$26,493,000 for 85 projects by Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee member Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), including: $243,000 for a science, technology, engineering, and math education initiative at Harcum College; $100,000 for history education programs at the Army Heritage Center Foundation in Carlisle; $100,000 for science education programs and equipment purchasing at Cedar Crest College (which has an endowment of $18,138,926); $100,000 for Manchester Bidwell Corporation for job training programs at the Bidwell Training Center; $100,000 for the Finishing Trades Institute in Philadelphia for weatherization job training programs; and $100,000 for internet-based foreign language programs at Carnegie Mellon University (which has an endowment of $1,061,625,145).

$17,500,000 for 28 projects by Senate appropriator Robert Bennett (R-Utah), including: $600,000 for curriculum development at Western Governors University; $500,000 for Weber State University for teacher education and curriculum development; $350,000 for facilities and equipment at Southern Utah University; and $250,000 for the I Won’t Cheat Foundation in Salt Lake City for an anti-steroids education program and awareness campaign.

$10,000,000 by Senate appropriator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) for the Denali Commission. The Denali Commission was established by then-Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) in 1999, and the funding still continues beyond his retirement. Since 2000, 23 projects worth $288,313,000 have been earmarked for the commission, which provides utilities, infrastructure, and economic support throughout Alaska.

$800,000 by Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) for music education programs at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Since 2001, 11 projects worth $4,816,000 have been directed to Jazz at Lincoln Center, which had a fund balance of $195,763,243 as of June 30, 2008. While the list of senators requesting the project has changed, Rep. Nadler’s name has been linked to the project in every year that names have been attached to earmarks in the appropriations bills.

$300,000 by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) for music education programs at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Tickets to see the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on September 30, 2010 range from $34 to $220. Since 2000, nine earmarks worth $8,550,000 have been earmarked for the landmark concert venue. Carnegie Hall had $401,662,000 in total assets as of June 30, 2009. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Earmark, earmark, earmark.

$225,000 by Senate appropriator Kit Bond (R-Mo.) and Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) for restoration and installation of exhibits at the St. Louis Art Museum Foundation. The museum’s website states that admission is free, and that it has a “…per-capita attendance that is consistently among the highest of our nation’s art museums.” The museum had a fund balance of $148,434,857 as of December 31, 2007.

$200,000 by House appropriator Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) for exhibits and interactive displays at the Gig Harbor History Museum. According to its website, the Gig Harbor History Museum is 85 percent of the way to its goal of $11.1 million to open a new facility. No opening date has been set. If each of the 7,008 residents of Gig Harbor had paid $28.54, this burden on federal taxpayers could have been avoided.

$200,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) for assessments and educational programming at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. According to its website, the museum is the largest in the state, and “the premier natural and cultural history institution in the Pacific, recognized throughout the world for its cultural collections, research projects, consulting services and public educational programs.” The average cost of a ticket to the Bishop Museum is $16.45, and 243,799 people visited in fiscal year 2009. If the average price of a ticket was raised by 83 cents, this earmark would have been unnecessary. The Bishop Museum had a fund balance of $71,302,643 as of June 30, 2008. Sens. Inouye and Akaka combined to earmark 31 projects worth $49.6 million to Hawaii in the Labor/HHS bill.

$200,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) for the Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C. for set design, installation, and performing arts at libraries and schools. The Washington National Opera had a fund balance of $19,547,622 as of June 30, 2008.

$150,000 by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) for exhibits and interactive displays at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Foundation in Buffalo. By paying 56 cents more on local taxes, residents of Buffalo could have paid for this project themselves. The foundation had a fund balance of $1,222,394 as of September 30, 2008. With this earmark, Rep. Slaughter is taking taxpayers for a “Rough Ride.”

$100,000 by House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) for the preservation of collections at the Cabot’s Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs. Rep. Lewis is giving taxpayers the cold shoulder with this earmark.

$100,000 by House Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee member Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) for exhibits and education outreach at the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center in Mobile. Federal taxpayers could have avoided the tab for this earmark if each of Mobile’s 191,022 residents had explored their bank accounts for an extra 53 cents.

$100,000 by Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) for career exploration and training for at-risk youths for jobs in filmmaking at the Duke Media Foundation in Hollywood.

pattygreen · August 11, 2010

IX. Legislative Branch

Even though the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act rarely contains earmarks or controversial items, the fiscal year 2010 version increased spending by 6.8 percent, from $4.4 billion in fiscal year 2009 to $4.7 billion in fiscal year 2010 at a time when the nation was mired in a deep recession. As reported on September 30, 2009 by Politico, the bill includes increases for staff salaries and the Architect of the Capitol, as well as new money for parties for dignitaries, VIPs, and political consultants. The legislation also contains $500,000 so that senators can engage in a “pilot program” to send out postcards to their constituents about town hall meetings, which many members of Congress assiduously avoided in August, 2009, when the hot issue was healthcare reform.

The strangest aspect of this bill is that the lone earmark was requested anonymously. The number of projects decreased by 66.7 percent, from 3 in fiscal year 2009 to 1 in fiscal year 2010. The amount of pork dropped by 47.4 percent, from $380,000 in fiscal year 2009 to $200,000 in fiscal year 2010.

$200,000 for preserving, digitizing and making available historically and culturally significant materials related to the development of Nebraska and the American West at the Durham Museum in Omaha. According to the Durham Museum Foundation’s 2008 IRS Form 990, it has net assets of $18.2 million.

X. Military Construction

Following the theme from other appropriations bills, dollar totals dropped in the fiscal year 2010 Military Construction, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The cost of projects decreased by 15.4 percent, from $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2009 to $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2010, while the number of projects increased by 3.4 percent, from 176 in fiscal year 2009 to 182 in fiscal year 2010.

$38,172,000 for five projects by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.): $14,000,000 for Battle Creek Air National Guard Base for CNAF beddown facilities; $8,900,000 for Alpena to replace troop quarters; $7,732,000 for an organizational maintenance shop at Fort Custer; $7,100,000 for A–10 squad operations at Selfridge Air National Guard Base; and $440,000 for phase two of a barracks replacement program at Camp Grayling.

$32,991,000 for four projects by Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.): $19,500,000 for Shepherd Air Base in Martinsburg for C–5 taxiway upgrades; $10,990,000 for Sugar Grove NSGA for an emergency services center; $2,000,000 for St. Albans Armory for a life safety upgrade; and $501,000 for Logan/Mingo County for a readiness center.

$26,940,000 for five projects by Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.): $14,500,000 for Ellsworth Air Force Base to add/alter a deployment center; $9,840,000 for Camp Rapid ($7,890,000 for a joint forces HQ readiness center supplement and $1,950,000 to add/alter a troop medical clinic); and $2,600,000 for Joe Foss Field (two earmarks worth $1,300,000 each to add to a munitions maintenance complex and for above ground multi-cubicle magazine storage).

$26,360,000 by House Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee member Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) for a fitness facility at Mayport Naval Station. The Jacksonville Snap Fitness Center is 10.5 miles from Mayport Naval Station, and offers membership for $44.95 a month. With the amount of money earmarked by Rep. Crenshaw, more than 48,800 year-long memberships could be purchased at Snap Fitness. According to GlobalSecurity.org, 60,400 active-duty personnel, family members, retirees, and civilian employees reside at Mayport Naval Station.

$21,900,000 for two projects funding chapels: $14,400,000 by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), House Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), and Reps. John Tanner (D-Tenn.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) for a chapel complex at Fort Campbell, and $7,500,000 by Sens. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) and Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) for a chapel center at Dover Air Force Base.

$2,000,000 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) for the Army National Guard in Carson City for renewable energy sustainable projects, which will focus on a plan to generate wind, solar, and geothermal energy. According to a June, 2004 study by the Heartland Institute, “generating electricity through wind power and other non-nuclear renewables costs twice as much as generating power from conventional sources.”

XI. State and Foreign Operations

Once again the House and Senate certified the fiscal year 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act as “earmark free.” Unfortunately for taxpayers, there are seven earmarks and they were not free – they cost $209.4 million. This is a 56.3 percent decrease in projects from fiscal year 2009, when there were 16 projects, and an 18.2 percent decrease in dollars from the $256 million in fiscal year 2009.

$17,000,000 added by the House for the International Fund for Ireland (IFI). According to information on IFI’s website, the program was established in 1986 to promote economic and social advance and encourage contact, dialogue and reconciliation between nationalists and unionists throughout Ireland. In a review of a glowing book about IFI released in January 2009, author Sean Donlon admitted, “While the fund will continue its work for the next couple of years it would be unreasonable to expect external support thereafter, especially in the current relatively stable political and security situation in Northern Ireland.” On June 17, 2009, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced H.R. 2915, which would prohibit funding for the program amid indications from supporters that IFI will be phased out in the near future. Language in the conference report indicated that fiscal year 2010 would be the last year the United States would contribute to the program. CAGW has identified $281 million for this project since 1995. It appears that only if taxpayers find a four leaf clover will this unnecessary program die.

$11,270,000 for the East-West Center in Hawaii. In a moment of rare candor, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) admitted in 2007, after receiving an award from the center, that there were no congressional hearings before the center was created in 1960; he noted that it came into existence without congressional hearings and over State Department opposition. The State Department, which was given the responsibility and funding for establishing the East-West Center, knew nothing about it, the senator said, and for years tried to kill it by not funding it in the annual budget request. The East-West Center is similar to the North-South Center, which stopped receiving federal funding in 2001. An April 3, 2009 Congressional Research Service report about the two centers said, “Congress has not funded the North-South Center since FY 2001, noting that it should be funded by the private sector.” Following that logic, the East-West Center should be funded by the private sector as well. It probably would be, except the center is located in the state of the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

$10,400,000 for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in the International Fisheries Commissions account. Among the activities that this earmark will fund, $6,500,000 will be used for expanded lamprey control and Water quality improvements in the Lake Champlain Basin. Congress should really let the taxpayers off the hook and eliminate this earmark in the future.

XII. Transportation/Housing and Urban Development (THUD)

Despite tens of billions of dollars being spent on transportation infrastructure through the stimulus bill, it is implausible to think that members of Congress would miss another opportunity like the THUD appropriations bill to spend even more money. While the bill is larded up with 1,483 earmarks totaling $1.2 billion, that is a 17.1 percent decrease from the 1,789 earmarks in 2009 and a 20 percent decrease from the $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2009.

Some of the most wasteful earmarks exist in the Economic Development Initiative (EDI) account. There are 404 EDI earmarks worth $173,087,070 in fiscal year 2010.

$68,819,750 for 61 projects by Senate THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.), including: $2,948,000 for the I-5 Columbia River Crossing; $2,922,000 for the West Freight access project (which the Federal Railroad Administration admits is a “non-competitive grant”); $1,948,000 for the waterfront redevelopment access project; $1,948,000 for Fish Lake Trail completion; $800,000 for the Downtown Tacoma streetscapes improvement project; $730,500 for the Vehicle Research Institute (VRI) – Advanced Materials Transit Vehicle Design (Since VRI claims to be “one of the leading schools for automotive design in the region,” it should be funded by the automotive industry, not taxpayers); $487,000 for advanced materials in transport aircraft structures; $438,300 for New Futures, Seattle, for the planning, design, and construction of a community center; and $200,000 for Lakeview Trail, Mountlake Terrace Center to the Interurban Trail. According to a February 2010 Mountlake Terrace newsletter, “These projects will also aid redevelopment and revitalization efforts in the downtown as the city looks to generate economic development and ease the tax

burden on our residents.” City officials should know that the federal tax burden is increased with every earmark they receive.

$33,487,500 for 19 projects by Senate THUD Appropriations Subcommittee member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), including: $6,000,000 for the Third Street Light Rail-Central Subway project; $3,704,500 for Doyle Drive replacement, San Francisco; $974,000 for the Autumn Street Parkway in San Jose; and $725,000 for the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC). According to a February 24, 2010 article in The Orange County Register, “The vision for the 16-acre ARTIC transportation center includes a mix of uses. The center would act as a regional hub for rail, bus, taxi and trolley service. It would replace the existing Metrolink site next to Angel Stadium.” In addition, “ARTIC will be about two miles from the Disneyland Resort and is expected to include connections to the theme-park area.”

$32,550,000 for 21 projects by Senate THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Kit Bond (R-Mo.), including: $2,500,000 for the KC Parks and Recreation Department, Kansas City, for the construction of a new community center; $2,000,000 for the St. Louis University Center for Aviation Safety Research; $2,000,000 for the Poplar Bluff Industrial Park Bypass; $1,600,000 for the Cape Girardeau Riverwalk Trail; and $1,000,000 for Brush Creek-Troost Avenue streetscape improvements. As a sign of Sen. Bond’s blind commitment to pork, fox4kc.com reported on February 26, 2010 that, “Sen. Bond has put a hold on the confirmation hearing of Martha Johnson until she agrees to move the GSA downtown.”

$20,234,100 for 22 projects by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), including: $2,922,000 for the Starr Road Interchange; $2,217,500 for SR-160 Nevada expansion; $974,000 for the I-15 Corridor of the Future; $535,700 for Nevada Pacific Parkway; and $194,800 for Community Chest, Virginia City for construction of a multi-use community center in Storey County.

$13,868,500 for 13 projects by House THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Olver (D-Mass.), including: $2,500,000 for the MART North Leominster Commuter Rail Station parking structure; $1,000,000 for the Community Transportation Association of America National Joblinks Program; $750,000 for Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield, for construction of a renewable energy training center; and $250,000 for the Wistariahurst Museum, Holyoke, for renovation and expansion. The museum charges for a number of events, including, “a hands-on demonstration in Pisanki - the tradition of decorating eggs and one of the most cherished cultural expressions of Polish heritage around the Easter holiday. Participants will leave with their own designed and hand-dyed Easter eggs. Fee is $30 per person”, and a “Trash to Treasure” in which “scouts and youths will use their creativity to turn castaways into fun and functional stuff, letting their imagination run wild in this hands-on session! $8 per person.”

$9,500,000 for nine projects by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.), including: $2,000,000 for the city of Superior for expansion and improvement of a shipyard repair facility on the Great Lakes; $500,000 for reconstruction of Rib Mountain; $500,000 for the North West Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, Spooner, for the expansion of business incubators in Rusk County, including infrastructure improvements; and $450,000 for the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute.

$6,965,000 for 10 projects by House THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Latham (R-Iowa), including: $1,050,000 for the West Grand Avenue extension; $500,000 for the Earthworks Engineering Research Center at Iowa State University; and $400,000 for city of Jefferson for streetscape improvements.

$2,000,000 by Senate THUD Appropriations Subcommittee member Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and House appropriator Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) for the National Institute for Aviation Research. Listed among the institute’s “clients” are major aerospace companies, who should have paid for this program.

$1,000,000 by Senate appropriator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) for repairs, restoration, and modernization of a theatre and construction of an additional space at the Portsmouth Music Hall. As the recipient of a $400,000 earmark in 2004, the music hall keeps looking to the taxpayers to help it carry a tune.

$400,000 by House appropriator Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) for restoration and renovation of the historic Ritz Theater in Newburgh, N.Y. With the federal government’s limited resources, Congress should think twice before they put on the “ritz” for this kind of spending.

$400,000 by Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) for construction and renovation for safety improvements at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. According to the garden’s 2008 financial statement, it had net assets worth $49,147,172 with an operating budget of $16.9 million. Unfortunately, Congress thinks money grows on trees since it is giving $400,000 to an organization with a healthy balance sheet when the federal government is more than $12.7 trillion in debt.

$392,000 by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) for a streetscape project in Dahlonega, Georgia. According to Rep. Deal’s letter of request to the House Appropriations Committee, the earmark will be used for “appropriate sidewalks, greenery, period lighting, and signage will be utilized to enhance tourism and economic development.” While a town can attract business based on aesthetic qualities, spending taxpayers’ money on signage and period lighting does not seem like a good “Deal.”

$350,000 by House appropriator Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) and Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) for renovation of the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia. There are six THUD earmarks worth $2,350,000 to fund theaters for which members of Congress must truly believe that “the pork show must go on.”

$250,000 by Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) for building renovations for the Murphy Theatre in Wilmington, Ohio. The theatre’s website states that it “is no longer the heart of the town’s activities -- the downtown itself, indeed has followed the old theatre’s fortunes -- but it is still the symbolic heart.” According to Rep. Turner, the mayor of Wilmington stated that some of the money will be used for updating the heating and air conditioning systems of the theatre. That will do little to warm the hearts of the taxpayers who get stuck with the bills.

$250,000 by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) for construction of the Monroe County Farmer’s Market. According to Rep. Whitfield’s letter of request to the House Appropriations Committee, “funding will be used to construct a new market pavilion that would facilitate economic development and provide added benefits to the local community.”

$200,000 by Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) for the expansion of the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn Harbor, New York. The museum, which had a fund balance of $6.9 million at the end of 2008, brags that it “combines the dynamic imagery of a museum setting, with an historic mansion and the natural beauty of incredible gardens.” The website also details accounts of recent exhibits featuring works by famous impressionists Degas, Pissarro and Renoir. Taxpayers are starting to get the “impression” that their hard-earned dollars are being abused.

$200,000 by Senate THUD Appropriations Subcommittee member Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) for design and construction of a small business incubator and multipurpose center in Scranton, Pennsylvania. As those who run real businesses know, they are always more productive than the government, even if “Michael Scott” is running the local office.

$194,800 by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) for completion of the historic restoration project at the Historic Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. According to Slater Mill’s website, it is “one of the most visited sites in Rhode Island with 30,000 visitors per year, 80 years of preservation experience and long-term partnerships with major universities, public school systems, cultural heritage organizations, tourism agencies, museums, guilds, artists, the business community and many others.” The website also discloses that the admission fees are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $8 for children. Besides being a popular destination, the organization does not appear to be on shaky financial footing. According to the Old Slater’s Mill Association 2008 IRS Form 990, it has net assets of $2,573,254.

$150,000 by House appropriator Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) for renovation and build out of the Pregones Theater in the Bronx. According to the theater’s website, a March 2010 performance of the Puerto Rican Symphonic Orchestra cost attendees $22 for regular admission. With admission prices like these, the theater organization should not look to the taxpayers to blow its horn.

$100,000 by House appropriator Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) for construction on the Santa Ana River Trail. According to Rep. Calvert’s letter of request to the House Appropriations Committee, the money will be used to construct a trail link between the two largest cities in Riverside County, Corona and Riverside.

This booklet was written by David E. Williams, vice president, policy; Sean Kennedy, research associate; and MacMillin Slobodien, media associate. It was edited by Thomas A. Schatz, president.

IX. Legislative Branch

Even though the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act rarely contains earmarks or controversial items, the fiscal year 2010 version increased spending by 6.8 percent, from $4.4 billion in fiscal year 2009 to $4.7 billion in fiscal year 2010 at a time when the nation was mired in a deep recession. As reported on September 30, 2009 by Politico, the bill includes increases for staff salaries and the Architect of the Capitol, as well as new money for parties for dignitaries, VIPs, and political consultants. The legislation also contains $500,000 so that senators can engage in a “pilot program” to send out postcards to their constituents about town hall meetings, which many members of Congress assiduously avoided in August, 2009, when the hot issue was healthcare reform.

The strangest aspect of this bill is that the lone earmark was requested anonymously. The number of projects decreased by 66.7 percent, from 3 in fiscal year 2009 to 1 in fiscal year 2010. The amount of pork dropped by 47.4 percent, from $380,000 in fiscal year 2009 to $200,000 in fiscal year 2010.

$200,000 for preserving, digitizing and making available historically and culturally significant materials related to the development of Nebraska and the American West at the Durham Museum in Omaha. According to the Durham Museum Foundation’s 2008 IRS Form 990, it has net assets of $18.2 million.

X. Military Construction

Following the theme from other appropriations bills, dollar totals dropped in the fiscal year 2010 Military Construction, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The cost of projects decreased by 15.4 percent, from $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2009 to $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2010, while the number of projects increased by 3.4 percent, from 176 in fiscal year 2009 to 182 in fiscal year 2010.

$38,172,000 for five projects by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.): $14,000,000 for Battle Creek Air National Guard Base for CNAF beddown facilities; $8,900,000 for Alpena to replace troop quarters; $7,732,000 for an organizational maintenance shop at Fort Custer; $7,100,000 for A–10 squad operations at Selfridge Air National Guard Base; and $440,000 for phase two of a barracks replacement program at Camp Grayling.

$32,991,000 for four projects by Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee member Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.): $19,500,000 for Shepherd Air Base in Martinsburg for C–5 taxiway upgrades; $10,990,000 for Sugar Grove NSGA for an emergency services center; $2,000,000 for St. Albans Armory for a life safety upgrade; and $501,000 for Logan/Mingo County for a readiness center.

$26,940,000 for five projects by Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.): $14,500,000 for Ellsworth Air Force Base to add/alter a deployment center; $9,840,000 for Camp Rapid ($7,890,000 for a joint forces HQ readiness center supplement and $1,950,000 to add/alter a troop medical clinic); and $2,600,000 for Joe Foss Field (two earmarks worth $1,300,000 each to add to a munitions maintenance complex and for above ground multi-cubicle magazine storage).

$26,360,000 by House Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee member Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) for a fitness facility at Mayport Naval Station. The Jacksonville Snap Fitness Center is 10.5 miles from Mayport Naval Station, and offers membership for $44.95 a month. With the amount of money earmarked by Rep. Crenshaw, more than 48,800 year-long memberships could be purchased at Snap Fitness. According to GlobalSecurity.org, 60,400 active-duty personnel, family members, retirees, and civilian employees reside at Mayport Naval Station.

$21,900,000 for two projects funding chapels: $14,400,000 by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), House Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), and Reps. John Tanner (D-Tenn.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) for a chapel complex at Fort Campbell, and $7,500,000 by Sens. Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) and Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) for a chapel center at Dover Air Force Base.

$2,000,000 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Rep. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) for the Army National Guard in Carson City for renewable energy sustainable projects, which will focus on a plan to generate wind, solar, and geothermal energy. According to a June, 2004 study by the Heartland Institute, “generating electricity through wind power and other non-nuclear renewables costs twice as much as generating power from conventional sources.”

XI. State and Foreign Operations

Once again the House and Senate certified the fiscal year 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act as “earmark free.” Unfortunately for taxpayers, there are seven earmarks and they were not free – they cost $209.4 million. This is a 56.3 percent decrease in projects from fiscal year 2009, when there were 16 projects, and an 18.2 percent decrease in dollars from the $256 million in fiscal year 2009.

$17,000,000 added by the House for the International Fund for Ireland (IFI). According to information on IFI’s website, the program was established in 1986 to promote economic and social advance and encourage contact, dialogue and reconciliation between nationalists and unionists throughout Ireland. In a review of a glowing book about IFI released in January 2009, author Sean Donlon admitted, “While the fund will continue its work for the next couple of years it would be unreasonable to expect external support thereafter, especially in the current relatively stable political and security situation in Northern Ireland.” On June 17, 2009, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced H.R. 2915, which would prohibit funding for the program amid indications from supporters that IFI will be phased out in the near future. Language in the conference report indicated that fiscal year 2010 would be the last year the United States would contribute to the program. CAGW has identified $281 million for this project since 1995. It appears that only if taxpayers find a four leaf clover will this unnecessary program die.

$11,270,000 for the East-West Center in Hawaii. In a moment of rare candor, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) admitted in 2007, after receiving an award from the center, that there were no congressional hearings before the center was created in 1960; he noted that it came into existence without congressional hearings and over State Department opposition. The State Department, which was given the responsibility and funding for establishing the East-West Center, knew nothing about it, the senator said, and for years tried to kill it by not funding it in the annual budget request. The East-West Center is similar to the North-South Center, which stopped receiving federal funding in 2001. An April 3, 2009 Congressional Research Service report about the two centers said, “Congress has not funded the North-South Center since FY 2001, noting that it should be funded by the private sector.” Following that logic, the East-West Center should be funded by the private sector as well. It probably would be, except the center is located in the state of the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

$10,400,000 for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in the International Fisheries Commissions account. Among the activities that this earmark will fund, $6,500,000 will be used for expanded lamprey control and water quality improvements in the Lake Champlain Basin. Congress should really let the taxpayers off the hook and eliminate this earmark in the future.