CAGW: Congress Pigs Out in War Supplemental Bill; Final Version Filled with Unrelated Projects

4/18/2003

From: Mark Carpenter or Jonathan Trager, 202-467-5300 both of Citizens Against Government Waste web: http://www.cagw.org

WASHINGTON, April 18 -- Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today condemned Congress for passing a $78.5 billion War Supplemental Appropriations bill filled with pork-barrel projects. Although President Bush had requested the legislation to finance the war in Iraq and other anti-terrorism provisions, lawmakers shamefully seized the opportunity to tack on funds for 29 unrelated projects, which cost more than $348 million. Here is a list of the projects that were included in the legislation:

-- $110,000,000 added by the Senate for the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa;

-- $54,750,000 added by the Senate for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for the Interoperable Communications Technology Program;

-- $41,000,000 added by the Senate for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for geostationary systems;

-- $40,140,000 for Capitol police buildings and grounds;

-- $24,000,000 added by the Senate for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for polar orbiting systems;

-- $22,679,000 added by the Senate for a Capitol power plant;

-- $15,000,000 added by the Senate for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;

-- $9,000,000 added by the Senate for the operation of the National Park Service system;

-- $5,500,000 for the Library of Congress for the purchase and installation of a public address system for the Library buildings;

-- $5,000,000 added in conference for Columbia for programs and activities to assist persons who have been displaced as a result of armed conflict;

-- $5,000,000 for State and Tribal Wildlife Grants;

-- $4,849,000 for the General Accounting Office;

-- $3,300,000 added in conference for the European Communities with regard to the European Communities music listening dispute;

-- $1,863,000 for the Congressional Research Service for the implementation of an alternate computer facility;

-- $1,100,000 added by the Senate for the Capitol Architect for the Capitol Building;

-- $1,000,000 for the Geisinger Health System in Harrisburg to establish centers for excellence for the treatment of autism;

-- $1,000,000 added by the Senate for the Department of Labor for the Jobs for America's Graduates program;

-- $513,000 added in conference for the Region I Planning and Development Council in Princeton, W.Va. for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements;

-- $500,000 added in conference for the Harford Board of Education in Aberdeen, Md. for collaboration between a science and technology high school and the Aberdeen Proving Ground;

-- $500,000 added in conference for the St. Louis Children's Museum for a collaborative project with the St. Louis Public Library;

-- $437,000 added in conference for the Huntington Sanitary Board of Huntington, W.Va. for the construction of wastewater treatment facilities;

-- $400,000 added in conference for the University of Southern Maine School of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology for the purchase of equipment and technology;

-- $231,000 added by the House for DAIKON Lutheran Social Ministries of Allentown, Pa. for abstinence education and related services;

-- $225,000 added by the House for the Mental Health Association of Tarrant County, Fort Worth, Texas;

-- $200,000 added by the House for the Aids Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco for a Developing Country Medical Program;

-- $200,000 added in conference for Light of Life Ministries in Allegheny County, Pa. for renovation and infrastructure improvements of a homeless service center on Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh;

-- $100,000 added in conference for the American Academy of Liberal Education in Washington, D.C.;

-- $100,000 added in conference for the Regional Learning Alliance, Marshall Township of Allegheny County, Pa., and

-- $50,000 added by the House for the United States Court of International Trade for a security system upgrade.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.