Democrats in Congress, Wasteful Spenders!

We're getting a good look at how the Libs love to control how and where individuals and organizations choose to spend their own money. We've gotten flack for raising money for Joe the Plumber and now the Left is upset with the RNC for spending $150k on Sarah Palin's wardrobe. However, when it comes to the government spending other peoples money, no problem.

Let's look at how the Libs have spent the American taxpayer's money during 2008 (CAGW.ORG):

$11,808,756 for 12 projects by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), including: $3,829,008 for the Lost River Watershed Project; $3,226,257 for the GIS Center of Excellence; $1,529,220 for the Appalachian Fruit Lab; $521,325 for aquaculture product and marketing development; and $112,209 for feed efficiency research.

$7,818,882 for 10 projects by Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), including: $2,502,360 for the Dairy Forage Agricultural Research Center in Prairie du Sac; $1,861,875 for development of specialty markets; $346,557 for urban horticulture research; and $178,740 for the Dairy Business Association (DBA), which according to its website, “is an industry organization comprised of dairy producers, corporate and allied industry supporters. The DBA promotes the growth and success of all dairy farms in Wisconsin by fostering a positive business and political environment.” Besides tax dollars, the DBA is financed by companies such as Monsanto, EcoLab, and Smithfield Beef Group. Total net income for the three companies in 2006 was $671.4 million.

$5,505,192 for eight projects by House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), including: $919,518 for income enhancement demonstration research; $845,043 for the Center for Innovative Food Technology (one of the Center’s projects, agritourism, “is when the public visits a working farm, ranch, winery or any other type of agricultural operation for enjoyment, education, outdoor activities, shopping or dining. You experience agritourism when you go to a corn maze, watch cider being pressed, pick your own apples, and take the kids to pick out their own pumpkin or shop at a farm stand.”); $411,102 for wheat quality research; and $407,130 for agriculture science research.

$3,737,652 for six projects by Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), including: $1,646,394 for the McDowell Grove Dam Rood Plain/Wetlands Restoration Project in DuPage County; $107,244 for wildlife habitat improvement; and $36,741 for conservation science at Lincoln Park Zoo. This “free” zoo was established in 1868 after a pair of swans were given to the Lincoln Park Commissioners. Today, the zoo can be rented out for weddings, picnics, corporate events, and holiday parties.

$3,527,136 for six projects by House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member Sam Farr (D-Calif.), including: $1,869,819 for the U.S. Agricultural Research Station in Salinas; $425,997 for the Monterey Bay Sanctuary; $380,319 for sustainable agriculture research; and $222,432 for greenhouse lettuce germplasm. This cabbage has cost taxpayers too much money.

$2,691,030 for four projects by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.), including: $1,843,008 for the University of WisconsinStevens Point Geographic Information System; $368,403 for the Red Cliff Tribal Hatchery; and $294,921 for potato pest management.

$1,971,105 by House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Ct.): $1,229,334 for mosquito trapping research/West Nile Virus; $523,311 for invasive aquatic weeds; and $218,466 for vector-borne diseases.

$1,769,526 for five projects by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), including: $1,117,125 for mormon crickets; $365,424 for the Nevada arid rangelands initiative; and $36,741 for weed management.

$1,618,590 for four projects by Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.), including: $709,995 for Suwanee, Dixie, and Lafayette counties dairy and poultry waste treatment; $329,676 for oyster post harvest treatment; and $283,998 for the Green Institute. The Institute’s mission is “sustaining the environment and our communities through practical innovation. Our vision is shared by the thousands of people who donate and purchase our quality reclaimed and green building materials, design and construct green buildings, generate clean energy, learn how to manage storm water and landscape sustainably, and work together to conserve and restore our environment.” One of its programs, Gardenworks, is “to improve urban livability with green space. Our green spaces are an indispensable part of the urban environment: beautifying neighborhoods, reducing heating & cooling costs, lowering stress, cleaning the air, providing food and income, increasing biodiversity, lowering crime, and improving water quality in our lakes and rivers.” Lowering stress and crime?

$1,335,585 for seven projects by Senate appropriator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), including: $335,634 for environmentally safe products; $261,159 for the Center for Rural Studies; and $97,314 for maple research. This has really put taxpayers in a sticky situation.

$11,972,075 for 17 projects by Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), including: $2,350,000 for Teach for America, New York, to engage teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); $893,000 for the National Aquarium in Baltimore Conservation and Education Programs for conservation and education programs of the marine environment National Aquarium of Baltimore; $178,600 for Johns Hopkins University Baltimore for the Johns Hopkins Prisoner Career Re-Entry Program to provide job training and placement.

$4,638,900 for 24 projects by House CJS Subcommittee Chairman Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), including: $846,000 for a distance learning program at Fairmont State University; $540,500 for an independent verification and validation research program through NASA; $282,000 for the Micronauts Education Simulator at Wheeling Jesuit University; and $188,000 for the Glenville State College Anti-Recidivism Prisoner Education Program.

$2,820,000 for four projects by Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.): $1,880,000 for the Educational Advancement Alliance Math, Science, and Technology Program; $846,000 for the Father's Day Rally Committee Inc. Men United Program in Philadelphia; $47,000 for the Grands As Parents Very Important People (VIP) Program in Philadelphia; and $47,000 for a mural arts program for at-risk youth in Philadelphia. Rep. Fattah started securing the funding for the four projects in the middle of a heated battle to win the Democratic nomination for mayor of Philadelphia. Both he and the taxpayers lost.

$2,350,000 for 10 projects by House appropriator Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), including: $940,000 for Bronx River restoration; $282,000 for Latino Pastoral Action Center programs for at-risk youth in the Bronx; and $94,000 for El Museo del Barrio educational programs in the Bronx for at-risk youth. This museum had net assets of more than $3.6 million at the end of 2006.

$1,339,500 by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) for the Abyssinian Development Corporation. According to a January 24, 2008 CNSNews.com article, “Clinton teamed with senior New York Sen. Charles Schumer and New York Rep. Charles Rangel, both Democrats, to provide three earmarks for the Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC). The ADC is a separate non-profit community development organization… that focuses on increasing quality housing, delivering social services, and boosting economic and educational opportunities in Harlem. Clinton accepted credit for the Abyssinian earmarks and other earmarks in a statement released in December saying, ‘I am proud that these funds will help support critical investments in New York City from strengthening community programs for our children to supporting the city’s colleges and universities to cleaning up our waterways.’”

$1,081,000 for six projects by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), including: $282,000 for Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy at-risk youth programs; $235,000 for the Project for Public Spaces for preservation and revitalization of the Moore Street Market; and $188,000 for Brooklyn Arts Council at-risk youth programs.

$173,200,000 for 25 projects by Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), including: $25,000,000 for the Hawaii Federal Health Care Network; $23,000,000 for the Maui Space Surveillance System operations & research; $10,000,000 for the National Defense Center of Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences; $5,000,000 for the Maui High Performance Computing Center; $3,500,000 for Army conservation and ecosystem management; $3,000,000 for the Hawaii National Guard Counter-Drug Program; and $2,000,000 for Brown Tree Snakes.

$144,624,000 for 26 projects by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), including: $54,000,000 for the ABL Facility Restoration Program (according to an October 3, 2006 article in the Cumberland Times News, “Alliant Techsystems, also known as ATK, as the primary leasee of the Navy’s ABL facility, will benefit most from the improvements to the facility, …‘ATK is very pleased that Senator Byrd has continued to support the facility restoration program at [ABL]…. The upgrades ... have allowed us to expand our business and offer the Department of Defense a wide range of quality products for our war fighters.’”); $18,000,000 for the AFIP Records Digitization Program; $5,600,000 for the Joint Interagency Training and Education Center; $4,800,000 for the Autonomous Maritime Navigation Program; $2,400,000 for economic production of coal-to-liquid fuels; $2,400,000 for research to reduce the environmental impact of coal-to-liquid fuels; and $900,000 for the Electronic Commodity Program.

$121,400,000 for 44 projects by House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.), including $23,000,000 for the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). Rep. Murtha became infuriated by Rep. Mike Rogers’ (R-Mich.) motion to remove the NDIC earmark. According to Rogers, Rep. Murtha warned, “I hope you don’t have any earmarks in the defense appropriations bills because they are gone and you will not get any earmarks now and forever. … That’s the way I do it.” Since 1992, more than $509 million has been used to fund NDIC, which is administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ.). But DOJ has asked Congress to shut the NDIC down because its operations are duplicative. This project helped Rep. Murtha win CAGW’s 2007 Porker of the Year award.

35,200,000 for 17 projects by House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee member Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), including: $4,000,000 for an enhanced detection adjunct processor; $2,400,000 for the Center for Solar Electricity and Hydrogen; $2,000,000 for the Northern Ohio Integrated Command Operations Program; and $1,000,000 for internal base facility energy independence wind/turbine.

$26,800,000 for 14 projects by House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee member Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), including: $4,000,000 for the Northwest Maritime Information and Littoral Operations Program; $1,600,000 for the Open Source Naval and Missile Database Reporting System; $1,200,000 for the National Bureau for Asian Research (according to the Bureau’s website, it is “a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution dedicated to informing and strengthening policy in the Asia-Pacific.”); and $1,000,000 for the Puget Sound Navy Museum.

$4,800,000 by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) for the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The Gateway National Recreation Area’s website describes the Jamaica Bay Unit as “a wealth of history, nature and recreation, from New York City's first major airport and coastal fortifications to a wildlife refuge and pristine beaches.” A nice place to swim away with defense dollars.

$3,000,000 by House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) for The First Tee, whose purpose, according to its website, is “To impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf.” If The First Tee wanted money to spread its teachings to the military, it could ask its numerous corporate sponsors, who would likely respond with at least $3 million. Rep. Clyburn told CNBC on November 27, 2007 that the program will help “make generals and colonels.” Apparently, after hundreds of years of military operations without having such a program, it was critical to add The First Tee in conference, in the middle of the war on terrorism.

$1,600,000 by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) for the Allen Telescope Array. This project first appeared in the 2005 Congressional Pig Book and has received a total of $5.6 million. It is part of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), which describes the telescope as “cutting-edge astronomical research and a simultaneous search for signals of intelligent, extraterrestrial origin.” The Pentagon should classify this as an Unidentified Fiscal Object.

$92,033,216 for 25 projects by Senate appropriator Mary Landrieu (D-La.), including $1,850,000 for the removal of aquatic growth and $1,180,800 for materials and energy research at Tulane University in New Orleans.

$82,164,000 by Senate appropriator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) for Columbia River fish mitigation in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. This project funds bypass facilities for migratory salmon and steelhead fish at the multiple dams along the Columbia River.

33,382,200 for 16 projects by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), including: $2,681,400 for the Center for Materials Reliability at the University of Nevada, Reno; $1,968,000 for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for continued expansion of the James E. Rogers and Louis Weiner Jr. Large-Scale Structures Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno; $984,000 for the University of Nevada, Reno, for a Fire Science Academy at Elko; $738,000 for a technology transfer initiative at the University of Nevada, Reno; and $590,400 for operations and maintenance at the Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas.

$22,716,664 for 18 projects by Senate appropriator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), including $1,574,400 for a cooperative agreement between the Department of Energy and Inyo County and $107,256 for long term sediment management at Humbolt Bay.

$2,400,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) for renovations to Haddad Riverfront Park. On February 1, 2008 The Charleston Gazette quoted Chairman Byrd as saying, “Maintaining and improving Haddad Riverfront Park is a top priority for the city of Charleston.” If it is so important, the 51,342 residents of Charleston could each pay $46.75 to the city instead of forcing the price tag on the hundreds of millions of Americans who probably will never visit the facility.

$3,000,000 by House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) for the South Carolina Adjutant General’s Office of Emergency Preparedness, for projects in Santee and Manning. With groundbreaking made possible by the $1.5 million directed toward Santee in this project, the town will receive the convention center it has long sought. The Times and Democrat on January 26, 2008 noted that Santee Mayor Silas Seabrooks had previously called Rep. Clyburn about the possibility of funds for a conference center. According to the article, that is when the eight-term representative got an idea: “The light went off in my head. What’s wrong with having a conference center which could also serve in the case of an emergency as an evacuation center. So, we wanted this facility that will not only accommodate conferences, but one that could be here … to save lives.” The new facility is being cited for its role as a conference center, not as an evacuation center. Gregg Robinson, executive director of the Orangeburg County Economic Development Commission, explained in the same article, “…we will see the opportunities and spin-offs in retail and commercial development that come with it and all of the benefits of tourism dollars that come to Santee.” Rep. Clyburn managed to pull the wool over the eyes of his colleagues and the taxpayers to secure money for a conference center that would have otherwise gone unfunded, at least with federal dollars.

$16,058,517 for 15 projects by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), including: $2,953,200 for the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority for water and sewer improvements; $1,646,901 for the Wood Education and Resource Center (one of the center’s workshops, “Helping the Wood Products Industry Profit From the Next 10 Years,” explains exactly why taxpayers would be better off not funding wood research); $1,830,984 for Monongahela National Forest Road improvements; and $123,050 for a Mother's Day Shrine in Grafton (population 5,489, with a land area of 3.8 square miles).

$5,906,400 by Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) for Great Smokey National Park, North Shore Road Settlement. Taxpayers thought they would be a getting a break when North Carolina porker extraordinaire Charles Taylor lost the 2006 election to Rep. Shuler. While campaigning, Rep. Shuler criticized Taylor’s use of earmarks, and upon election, in a December 31, 2006 interview with US News & World Report, Shuler said, “We have to find a much better way to balance our budget and use tax dollars much more wisely…And if we don't have the money, then we don't need to spend the money.” It did not take long for Rep. Shuler to catch “Potomac Fever” and renounce his pledge to spend money wisely.

$4,872,780 for five projects by House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), including: $1,968,800 for Mason County for wastewater infrastructure improvements for Belfair; $1,476,600 for National Fish and Wildlife Foundation endangered species grants; and $246,100 for Bremerton Public Library restoration.

$2,362,560 for six projects by Senate appropriator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) including: $836,740 for land acquisition at Shawnee National Forest; $344,540 for City of Chicago GreenStreets Tree Planting Program (according to Sen. Durbin’s website, “The GreenStreets program focuses on improving the quality of urban life through tree planting and care, recycling and open space revitalization. This fifteen year old initiative serves as a successful model of how an investment in urban natural resources conservation can restore deteriorated neighborhoods and enhance public open space.”); and $295,320 for Knox College in Galesburg. Home of the Lincoln-Douglas deabates, Knox attracts a large group of politicians including former Attorney General John Ashcroft, and former Secretary of State Madeline Albright. A college of only 1,300 undergraduates, Knox has a $66.2 million endowment, in addition to an annual tuition bill of nearly $30,000.

$40,430,050 for 44 projects by Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), including: $6,337,000 for two earmarks for the Iowa Department of Education to continue the Harkin Grant Program; $1,500,000 for the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute (dedicated to creating jobs and strengthening communities); $731,000 for the Presidential Timeline Project at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation in Austin (which provides digitized information from presidential libraries); $390,000 for the support of the residency program at Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra; $316,000 for a best practices initiative on lower back pain at Palmer College of Chiropractice in Davenport (giving taxpayers a big pain just below the back); $146,000 for the Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa in Des Moines for exhibits, multimedia collections, and displays; and $97,000 for Iowa Games in Ames to continue the Lighten Up Iowa Program, which instructs individuals on how to lead a healthy lifestyle. Sen. Harkin has long been a determined crusader for pork. In a November 25, 2006 New York Times article, he claimed, “I happen to be a supporter of earmarks, unabashedly. But I don’t call them earmarks. It is ‘Congressional directed spending.’” This proclamation earned Sen. Harkin CAGW’s Porker of the Month award for December, 2006.

$1,950,000 by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) for a library and archives at the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at The City College of New York. This “Monument to Me” has caused some problems for the 19-term representative. The project was challenged on the House floor on July 19, 2007 by second-term Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.), who said, “You don’t agree with me or see any problem with us, as members, sending taxpayer funds in the creation of things named after ourselves while we’re still here?” Rep. Rangel responded, “I would have a problem if you did it, because I don't think that you've been around long enough that having your name on something to inspire a building like this in a school.” Ego and taxpayer dollars clearly do not mix.

$5,200,000 by House appropriator Ciro Rodriguez (D-Calif.) for a student activity center and library at Laughlin Air Force Base.

$1,500,000 by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) for a dining facility at Camp Rudder.

$18,071,200 for 17 projects by House appropriator John Olver (D-Mass.), including: $5,880,000 for development and construction of the MBTA Fitchburg to Boston Rail Corridor Project; $1,470,000 for downtown streetscape in Pittsfield; $784,000 for the Franklin Regional Transit Center; $735,000 for MART bus and commuter facilities; $269,500 for the Barrington Stage Company for the renovation and buildout of the Berkshire Music Hall and Octagon House in Pittsfield; and $196,000 for the Massachusetts Landscape Connectivity Study.

This was only the stuff over 1mil dollars!

In response to: Sarah Palin, freeloader.