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The very existence of earmarks is just one of many reasons that Americans must get their checkbook back from Uncle Sam before it's just too late. Despite the increased exposure by such organizations as Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government), earmarks are alive and well.

In fact, (in their own words), "The Congressional Pig Book is CAGW's annual compilation of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget. The 2009 Pig Book identified 10,160 projects at a cost of $19.6 billion in the 12 Appropriations Acts for fiscal 2009. A "pork" project is a line-item in an appropriations bill that designates tax dollars for a specific purpose in circumvention of established budgetary procedures. ...." :

Before Obama took office, U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) made this revealing statement to America at whitehouse.gov/omb/earmarks/public-site-preview/:

"Earmarks are funds provided by the Congress for projects or programs where the congressional direction (in bill or report language) circumvents the merit-based or competitive allocation process, or specifies the location or recipient, or otherwise curtails the ability of the Executive Branch to properly manage funds. Congress includes earmarks in appropriation bills - the annual spending bills that Congress enacts to allocate discretionary spending - and also in authorization bills..." (Note: When you attempt to visit the page now, you are re-directed to a page that says, "Page Not Found. The page you requested wasn't found at this location. The Obama Administration has created a brand new White House website, and it's possible that the page you were looking for has been moved.")

Also, at the time (approximately a year ago), the U.S. Senate had recently shot down (71-29) an effort to ban earmark spending for one year.

Perhaps the most "appropriate" earmark exposed in CAGW's Pig Book was the $1,791,000 for "swine odor and manure management research" as CAGW further noted:

According to the Agriculture Research Service’s website, the purpose of the research is to "generate and integrate knowledge for evaluation and development of new management practices that minimize nutrient excretion, malodorous emissions, and the release of pathogens into the environment as well as have a positive impact on animal health."In an effort to defend his earmark on the Senate floor, Sen. Harkin summed up its ridiculous nature succinctly: "I’m sure that David Letterman will probably be talking about it and Jay Leno will be talking about it, we’ve got $1.8 million to study why pigs smell."

Can't wait to read the results of this study.

- Ed Smith, Publisher
The EHS Letter Manual