WOW! GOP takes over Congress and earmarks/pork barrel spending only goes up 55%!

Geezzzzz...

It sure made a HUGE difference to have the GOP take over Congress... didn't it?

I've been saying all along it would make zero difference.  Ear marks and waste are the order of the day, as corruptive under the GOP control as it was under the left.

But moderates kept telling us: oh, we MUST vote for anyone with an "R" after there name; it''ll be DIFFERENT once the GOP takes over.

Right, Brent?

I'm still waiting to see that "difference" you were talking about.

• Townhall |
• Tipsheet |
• Matt Vespa
• 
  

Friendly Reminder: Pork Barrel Spending Jumped 55 Percent From Last Year

Matt Vespa | May 13, 2015

It’s here! Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has released their Pig Book, which concludes that since the earmark moratorium imposed in 2011, they have found wasteful pork in at least 12 appropriations bills. While the number of earmarks dropped from 109 in 2014 to 105 in 2015, the cost jumped 55.6 percent. In FY 2014, there were $2.7 billion in earmarks, while this year we’ll see $4.2 billion in pork. In the book, CAGW lists their seven-point criteria for finding pork in government spending.

1. It’s requested by one chamber of Congress
2. It’s not specifically authorized
3. Pork projects isn’t awarded in a competitive fashion
4. It’s not requested by the president
5. If requested by the president, it goes well beyond what was asked or what was originally marked from past budgets
6. “Not the subject of congressional hearings”
7. It serves local or special interest

CAGW found that most of the things they found fit at least two points in the criteria. Going through this rather extensive menu, we find that the Delta Regional Authority, established in 2000, provides “economic development assistance to support the creation of jobs and improve local conditions for the 10 million people who reside in 252 counties… through the Mississippi Delta states.” That’s a good mission statement, but the DRA’s programs are duplicates of other federal programs that provide similar assistance. Moreover in 2003, the DRA received $17.8 million in pork spending.

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