Centerfield

Bringing Home the Bacon

This might be the season for “gobble gobble,” but the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste are crying “Oink Oink!” According to the CCAGW, “While lawmakers and President Bush lauded the omnibus for holding domestic spending, excluding defense and foreign aid, members of Congress showed no restraint in their hunger for pork-barrel projects.” Funded projects cited include:

$3.5 million for bus acquisition in Atlanta, Ga.; $2 million for kitchen relocation in Fairbanks North Star Borough in Fairbanks, Alaska; $1.5 million for a demonstration project to transport naturally chilled water from Lake Ontario to Lake Onondaga; $500,000 for the Kincaid Park Soccer and Nordic Ski Center in Anchorage, Alaska; $250,000 for the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn.; $200,000 for Fenton Street Village pedestrian linkages in Montgomery Co., Md.; $100,000 for a municipal swimming pool in Ottawa, Kan.; $80,000 for the San Diego Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center; $75,000 for the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame in Appleton, Wis.; $35,000 for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame; and $25,000 for fitness equipment for the YMCA in Bradford County, Pa.

It's certainly true that our Congress Critters prefer that “other white meat,” but a quick look at this list begs the question: Why aren't these projects funded at the state and/or local level?

One good reason could be that pork is usually considered by voters to be any federal spending on local projects for a locality that isn't your own. If it's in your locality, it isn't pork, it's necessary funding. YourCongress.com lists as the number one reason why pork persists “Far more people love it than hate it.”

Members of Congress will support projects that are popular because they want to get re-elected. After securing a project, members are usually showered with thanks from local people, increasing their desire to secure another project. Giving people what they want is usually a good thing, and Members of Congress intrinsically know when something has produced votes.

Bottom line: There are far more votes in securing projects than there are people who oppose it. The same guy who says he hates pork barrel spending will be happy as a clam when the bridge that he drives on everyday is fixed. To him, it's not pork - it's about time.

This begs the next question: Why is it so difficult to get these projects funded locally? YourCongress.com gives these two possible reasons:

Many communities, particularly in rural areas, have to depend on their governor to help get projects funded. Many governors relish playing hardball politics - often moreso than federal politicians. Why should a small community go without just because the governor doesn't like their mayor?
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In many cases, the state department of transportation is a tougher nut to crack than any politician. Many communities have to depend on their state transportation bureaucrats to get projects completed. Any unelected bureaucracy is much more likely to be less responsive than one that has to answer to an election.

President Bush, when asked about the pork embedded in the omnibus appropriations bill he is scheduled to sign, responded with

…obviously, there's going to be things in these big bills that I don't particularly care for, and that's why I've asked Congress to give me a line-item veto. And the only way a President can affect that which is inside the bill, other than vetoing the entire bill, is to be able to pick out parts of a bill and express displeasure about it through a line-item veto. I hope the Congress will give me a line-item veto.

I've been in favor of Presidential line-item veto for some time now, but I just don't see Congress giving up its love of pork all that easily. For now, the only hope I see for pork barrel spending is to make sure the public hears about it. Especially pork that's mostly fat. It's one thing to provide federal funds for local projects that are needed and necessary, but hung up on the local level. Look at that list again. Just how necessary are those projects? Why should they receive any public funding, either local or federal? If our Congress Critters feel that their electibility hinges on getting funds for these types of projects, are they really worth reelecting?

Posted by Heather at November 26, 2004 11:15 PM