Health Care

pattygreen · August 12, 2010

Then compare it to a business. Any business would go under if it were run the way the government runs things and spends they way they do!

Cleo's Mom · August 13, 2010

I love the sarcasm in this article. So true, too.

Why can’t the government be run like business?

By: Jim Mullen, NEA Columnists

Sometimes, when I’m waiting in line at the grocery store for a price check on a box of Ramen noodles or waiting for the cashier to get a new roll of nickels or waiting for a manager to change the register tape, I can’t help but wonder, “Why can’t our government be run like this? Like a business?”

But can you imagine how bad things would be if we ran businesses like the government? Imagine a government run airline! They’d overbook the flights, they’d bump passengers, they’d lose luggage, they’d make people sit on the tarmac for 10 hours and never tell them why – and they’d lose tons of money. (And we know the private airline industry would never do any of this) It would be a total disaster – nothing like the smooth model of efficiency that the airlines are now.

Can you imagine the government running an investment company like Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers? They’d bankrupt those places in a week. Thousands of employees would be out on the street and millions of investors would lose their shirts. That’s because the government doesn’t know how to run things like a business.(Of course that could NEVER happen on responsible private wall street).:wink2: What if the government ran Ford and GM? They’d run them into the dirt in no time. What does the government know about making cars? They don’t have any experience running an automobile company. How long would it be before foreign car companies started eating our lunch? Thank goodness Ford and GM are run like businesses, run by some of the highest-paid executives in the world and not by know-nothing government bureaucrats.

What if the government ran our healthcare system? The mind reels, it’d be wildly expensive – a simple ride in an ambulance might cost $2,000 dollars. Hospitals would send the government bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars for diseases patients caught at the hospital, for tests they didn’t need. Bad doctors would circulate in the system forever, skipping from one hospital to another like flesh-eating bacteria. Our health care would be run by some bumbling, incompetent, unfeeling government bureaucrat instead of some bumbling, incompetent, unfeeling insurance-company bureaucrat, the way it is now.(We all know how much senior citizens hate government run medicare).

Unlike business, the government wastes money. Who hasn’t heard about the $600 toilet seats for the Air Force jets, which is completely different than the $6,000 shower curtain the CEO of Tyco International had installed in his home at the company’s expense. He needed that curtain for business, something the government knows nothing about. One shudders to think what would happen to the price of energy if the government were in charge of setting energy policy instead of the giant, international oil corporations who have years of experience in the business. Why the price of gas might go up as high as $4.50 a gallon. Or more! It could wreck our whole way of life.

Besides, as we all know because we hear it a lot, the government never created a job. I don’t know what my dad was doing for the 33 years he spent in the Navy, but he sure as hell wasn’t working, because the government never created a job. And delivering the mail isn’t a job and making fighter jets isn’t a job; building and repairing highways isn’t a job, because only business can create jobs.(That's the incorrect conclusion of the uniformed) I know several people right now who make a living foreclosing houses. Just one example of the kind of jobs business created, not the government.

So the next time you’re sleeping on the floor of an airport terminal waiting for a new piece of “equipment” to arrive; the next time your car breaks down seconds after the warranty expires; the next time you waste a day waiting for the cable guy; the next time you take a day off work waiting for a department-store delivery that never arrives; the next time a mechanic charges you $300 for fixing a 2 cent part; the next time your credit card company gets hacked; the next time your cell phone company over charges you a few thousand dollars, I hope you ask yourself, “Why can’t they run the government like this? Like a business?”

Edited August 13, 2010 by Cleo's Mom

loserbob · August 13, 2010

I love the sarcasm in this article. So true, too.
Why can’t the government be run like business?

By: Jim Mullen, NEA Columnists

Published: September 16th, 2008

Sometimes, when I’m waiting in line at the grocery store for a price check on a box of Ramen noodles or waiting for the cashier to get a new roll of nickels or waiting for a manager to change the register tape, I can’t help but wonder, “Why can’t our government be run like this? Like a business?”

But can you imagine how bad things would be if we ran businesses like the government? Imagine a government run airline! They’d overbook the flights, they’d bump passengers, they’d lose luggage, they’d make people sit on the tarmac for 10 hours and never tell them why – and they’d lose tons of money. It would be a total disaster – nothing like the smooth model of efficiency that the airlines are now.

Can you imagine the government running an investment company like Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers? They’d bankrupt those places in a week. Thousands of employees would be out on the street and millions of investors would lose their shirts. That’s because the government doesn’t know how to run things like a business. What if the government ran Ford and GM? They’d run them into the dirt in no time. What does the government know about making cars? They don’t have any experience running an automobile company. How long would it be before foreign car companies started eating our lunch? Thank goodness Ford and GM are run like businesses, run by some of the highest-paid executives in the world and not by know-nothing government bureaucrats.

What if the government ran our healthcare system? The mind reels, it’d be wildly expensive – a simple ride in an ambulance might cost $2,000 dollars. Hospitals would send the government bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars for diseases patients caught at the hospital, for tests they didn’t need. Bad doctors would circulate in the system forever, skipping from one hospital to another like flesh-eating bacteria. Our health care would be run by some bumbling, incompetent, unfeeling government bureaucrat instead of some bumbling, incompetent, unfeeling insurance-company bureaucrat, the way it is now.

Unlike business, the government wastes money. Who hasn’t heard about the $600 toilet seats for the Air Force jets, which is completely different than the $6,000 shower curtain the CEO of Tyco International had installed in his home at the company’s expense. He needed that curtain for business, something the government knows nothing about. One shudders to think what would happen to the price of energy if the government were in charge of setting energy policy instead of the giant, international oil corporations who have years of experience in the business. Why the price of gas might go up as high as $4.50 a gallon. Or more! It could wreck our whole way of life.

Besides, as we all know because we hear it a lot, the government never created a job. I don’t know what my dad was doing for the 33 years he spent in the Navy, but he sure as hell wasn’t working, because the government never created a job. And delivering the mail isn’t a job and making fighter jets isn’t a job; building and repairing highways isn’t a job, because only business can create jobs. I know several people right now who make a living foreclosing houses. Just one example of the kind of jobs business created, not the government.

So the next time you’re sleeping on the floor of an airport terminal waiting for a new piece of “equipment” to arrive; the next time your car breaks down seconds after the warranty expires; the next time you waste a day waiting for the cable guy; the next time you take a day off work waiting for a department-store delivery that never arrives; the next time a mechanic charges you $300 for fixing a 2 cent part; the next time your credit card company gets hacked; the next time your cell phone company over charges you a few thousand dollars, I hope you ask yourself, “Why can’t they run the government like this? Like a business?”

Well done!

loserbob · August 13, 2010

Gm and Chrysler didnt make money until the "gov takeover"!

Cleo's Mom · August 13, 2010

Gm and Chrysler didnt make money until the "gov takeover"!

What a coincidence. We posted the same article at the same time. Great minds think alike.

loserbob · August 13, 2010

Then compare it to a business. Any business would go under if it were run the way the government runs things and spends they way they do!

I was just watching Faux News(Hannity). He had (Rep)Meg Whitman, Calif. senator I believe. She said Calif. needs help that theyre broke! She also said she has plans to improve Calif. economy by using more technology and less manpower!

Total opposite of what you reps preach(Patty)Asking for handouts(needing help financially) and cutting jobs by using technology instead of manpower. Talk out of both ends as usual you rep hypocrits!!!

loserbob · August 13, 2010

What a coincidence. We posted the same article at the same time. Great minds think alike.

As much as Id like to take credit, I just read your post and was responding about GM, Chrysler, your post is the first I read about this.

loserbob · August 13, 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.

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.

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.

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.”

Could you please repeat that?

loserbob · August 13, 2010

Mrs. Obama's Spain vacation is one of eight she is taking this year. The total round-trip cost of JUST the flight is about $178.00 (that could support an illegal Mexican family for 5 years)
A 15-vehicle convoy shuttled the entourage - an undisclosed number of staff, Secret Service agents and friends - to a Super 8 motel where rooms normally run from $30 to $60 a night. The first lady's group is said to occupy 60 rooms.

It's not unusual for a first lady to take a private trip abroad, and republicans expect her to stay in a cheap hotel, but with the U.S. economy in such dire straits republicans argue the trip is simply in poor taste.

There were Expenses for the first lady's support staff,

Mandatory Secret Service detail, which could number 70 agents. At the $25-a-day federal per diem for five days, that's $1,750.00 for Secret Service room and board.

She was at the Pho-spa while the jobless rate is high and the economy is still struggling but at least she got her "happy ending"! By doing so she is tempting more republicans to get a "Happy ending"!.

The East Wing argues that Mrs. Obama is not an elected official and, as a private citizen, is free to focus on her family and friends. Still, what she does will be perceived by the republicans one way or another -- the East Wing has to know that. Mrs. Obama has gone to great lengths so far to avoid any controversy in her tenure and as a result has popularity ratings in every poll much higher than her husband's.

She and her family and friends started the New Year in Hawaii, the president's native state, which the Obamas try to visit each year. Since then, Mrs. Obama has had, or will have, some quality vacation travel. The 2010 list:

1. March: Over spring break, Mrs. Obama, her daughters and mother, Marian Robinson, visited New York with friends and took in some Broadway shows.

2. Memorial Day: a weekend trip home to Chicago.

3. June: Mrs. Obama, her girls and her mother flew to Los Angeles for sightseeing.

4. July: A Camp David visit (though the presidential retreat can be considered an extension of the White House, according to republicans).

5. July: A weekend in Maine, sightseeing in Acadia National Park, part of an Obama plan to showcase national parks.

6. Aug. 4-7: Spain.

7. Aug. 14: A first family weekend planned on the Florida Gulf coast. The first couple have been trying to draw tourists to the area in the wake of the BP disaster.

8. Aug. 19-29 Martha's Vineyard.

Bill Gates could support the whole country for 5 years, what the hell does that mean?

Cleo's Mom · August 13, 2010

Could you please repeat that?

:lol: :wink2: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Cleo's Mom · August 13, 2010

As much as Id like to take credit, I just read your post and was responding about GM, Chrysler, your post is the first I read about this.

Here's an interesting tidbit. You know that couple that escaped prison in Arizona that they are calling Bonnie & Clyde? Do you want to know how they escaped?

1) Went through an unlocked door that was supposed to be locked and alarmed

2) The getaway car was waiting on the other side of the fence and visible to the security cameras. No one noticed or cared if they did.

3) The person driving that car threw a pair of wire cutters over the fence.

4) The fence was cut and an alarm did go off but no one seemed to notice or care.

5) The bad guy got away in the getaway car.

Now, Arizona has many prisons- most are government run, but five (5) of them are PRIVATE, for profit prisons.

AND YOU GUESSED IT! IT WAS FROM ONE OF THESE PRIVATE, FOR PROFIT PRISONS THAT THEY ESCAPED.

You know how the anti-governement people love to bash the government and love to promote private as being soooo much better than the government could do it?

Well, here's your private, for-profit prison for you. Asleep at the switch. Literally.

loserbob · August 13, 2010

Here's an interesting tidbit. You know that couple that escaped prison in Arizona that they are calling Bonnie & Clyde? Do you want to know how they escaped?
1) Went through an unlocked door that was supposed to be locked and alarmed

2) The getaway car was waiting on the other side of the fence and visible to the security cameras. No one noticed or cared if they did.

3) The person driving that car threw a pair of wire cutters over the fence.

4) The fence was cut and an alarm did go off but no one seemed to notice or care.

5) The bad guy got away in the getaway car.

Now, Arizona has many prisons- most are government run, but five (5) of them are PRIVATE, for profit prisons.

AND YOU GUESSED IT! IT WAS FROM ONE OF THESE PRIVATE, FOR PROFIT PRISONS THAT THEY ESCAPED.

You know how the anti-governement people love to bash the government and love to promote private as being soooo much better than the government could do it?

Well, here's your private, for-profit prison for you. Asleep at the switch. Literally.

Ya, Im so tired of hearing private, public, private. Hey Patty, a job is a job. Id take a gov job over private any day.

loserbob · August 13, 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.

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.

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.

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.”

2 or 3 examples would have been enough! We didnt need the whole 500, page book. Do you really think anybody is reading this? Im so tired of scrolling past it to get to the next post!

pattygreen · August 13, 2010

Bill Gates could support the whole country for 5 years, what the hell does that mean?

Bill gates money is HIS, and hterefor he can do as he pleases with it.. Mrs. Obama's plane ticket was paid with our money, and therefore, we the people, demand a little restraint on the spending while the rest of us forego our vactions due to the economy. That's what that means.

pattygreen · August 13, 2010

2 or 3 examples would have been enough! We didnt need the whole 500, page book. Do you really think anybody is reading this? Im so tired of scrolling past it to get to the next post!

2 or 3 examples would not have Enlightened you with the scope of exhorbitant wasteful spending this beloved government of yours is doing!

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