HEY CONGRESS- Kill the PORK and CUT OUR TAXES

As Nancy Pelosi continues on her national book tour and Harry Reid is vacationing under the rock that he came out from, it is worthwhile to look at what the Congress has accomplished in 2008:

Of the 106 bills enacted since January, 94, or 89 percent were to name government buildings or lands, extend or make technical corrections to existing laws, or passed either by unanimous consent or with less than 10 dissenting votes. The accomplishments included “Frank Sinatra Day,” National Plumbing Industry Week,” and “National Day of the Cowboy.” CAGW

I don't want to give the impression that congress has done absolutely nothing, Congress allocated tons of OUR money on stupid project for the next fiscal year. The below represents over $175 MILLION in congressional WASTE. It represents just a small FRACTION of the dollars that could best be used elsewhere IN OUR POCKETS. Maybe if we eliminated programs like we can fund an even DEEPER TAX CUT:

• Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) for $211,509 in olive fruit fly research in Paris, France.

• Representative John Murtha (D-Pa.) for $23 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center.
  

• Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) for $1,950,000 for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service. 54
  

• Montana Senators Max Baucus (D) and Jon Tester (D) for $148,950 for the Montana Sheep Institute.
  

• Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) for $344,540 for the city of Chicago GreenStreets Tree Planting Program.
  

• Representative Virgil Goode (R-Va.) for $98,000 to develop a walking tour of Boydton, Virginia.
  

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for $196,000 for the renovation and transformation of the historic downtown Post Office in Las Vegas.

• $1.35 million by House appropriator Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) for the Rolls Royce solid oxide fuel systems development. Rolls Royce’s automobiles sell at prices ranging from $250,000 to more than $400,000.

• $1,350,000 for planetarium costs: $900,000 by House appropriator Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.), and Reps. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Danny Davis (D-Ill.) for planetarium equipment; $250,000 by House appropriator Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) for the Lakeview Museum Planetarium; and $200,000 by CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) for the County College of Morris Planetarium.

• $500,000 by House Interior Subcommittee member Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) for methamphetamine prevention in the Mark Twain National Forest.

• $350,000 by Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), for the River Raisin Revolutionary War Battlefield. This battle took place in 1813, long after the Revolutionary War ended.

• $150,000 by House appropriator Michael Simpson (R-Idaho) for the Rexburg Historic Westwood Theater. “Although it is not on the National Register of Historic places, it is near the Madison County Courthouse which is on the Register.”
  

• $175,000 by House appropriator Adam Schiff (D-Ca.), Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Ca.), and Mary Bono (R-Ca.) for the Autry National Center for the American West, which “explores the experiences and perceptions of the diverse peoples of the American West,” according to its website.

• $100,000 by House appropriator Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) for the Toledo GROWS High School Garden Learning Initiative, a “community gardening outreach program.” According to their website, “Community gardens are safe, beautiful outdoor spaces on public or private lands, where neighbors meet to grow and care for vegetables, flowers and native plant species. The gardeners take initiative and responsibility for organizing, maintaining and managing the garden area.”

• $11.58 million for a fitness center in Kingsville, Texas, added by Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Tex.). There is a private gym four miles away that costs $30 per month, with a $35 initiation fee. This $11.58 million could pay for the gym memberships of 29,300 service men and women for one year.

• $9.9 million added by Rep. John Spratt, Jr. (D-S.C.) for a physical fitness center at Shaw Air Force Base. There is a gym four miles away that charges $25 per month, with a $75 down payment. This $9.9 million could pay for the gym memberships of 26,400 service men and women for one year.

• $450,000 by Senator David Vitter (R-La.) to eliminate public corruption and reduce white collar crime;

• $400,000 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for copper wire theft prevention in Las Vegas;
  

• $6.8 million added by Rep. Terry Everett (R-Ala.) for a chapel center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, which already has two separate chapels on its campus.

• $150,000 by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) for the American Ballet Theatre in New York for “educational activities.” According to its website, “As of May 2008, over 65 donors have contributed a total of $28 million during the campaign’s private drive.”

• $150,000 by Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) for the Historic Mishler Theatre in Altoona, where the Holy Smoke Blues will be playing on August 15.

• $600,000 by House Energy and Water Appropriation Subcommittee member John Olver (D-Mass.) for the Wisdom Way Solar Village. The village has already received $1.89 million in loans from the state of Massachusetts. The project will consist of 20 homes with 11 of the homes sold to people of low income; seven will be sold to people of moderate income; and two are for individuals with disabilities. The combined state and federal subsidy comes out to $124,500 per home, which is not smart for the taxpayers.

• $5 million by House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee member Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) for construction in rural Idaho.

• $400,000 by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) for horseshoe crab research at Virginia Tech. According to a March 28, 2008 Richmond Times Dispatch article, “The horseshoe crab’s blood is useful in intravenous medications and has cancer-fighting properties.”This is a crabby case of corporate welfare; companies that need the research should pay for it.
  

• $17.5 million by Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) for renovations at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library.

• $300,000 by House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee member Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.) for the Montana World Trade Center (MWTC). The organization’s website says that it can “help your business realize international sales and expansion goals that would otherwise be unattainable.” One MWTC grantee, the Missoula Children’s Theatre, makes “overseas forays every year, visiting U.S. military bases and international schools, where they help students put together full-fledged theatrical productions.” Companies can join the MWTC for a measly $300 per year but taxpayers have to pony up $300,000.

• $250,000 by House appropriator Marion Berry (D-Ark.) for the Arkansas Commercial Driver Training Institute at Arkansas State University.

• $4.2 million for seven projects by House Interior Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), including: $500,000 for the city of University Place for sewer infrastructure; $270,000 for a Hood Canal Dissolved Oxygen Study; and $200,000 for Mason County Courthouse restoration. Source CAGW

But hang on, THERE IS MORE TO COME! Read the below from Tulsa Today:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today regarding Senator Reid’s plan to have the Senate consider a second omnibus bill comprised of bills Dr. Coburn has refused to help pass by the secretive unanimous consent process that bans debate, amendments and recorded votes.

“When the Senate reconvenes in September, our first order of business should be to pass a common sense, bipartisan energy plan that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In light of this clear national priority, Senator Reid’s new omnibus is particularly troubling because many of the bills I am holding would, if enacted, erect new barriers to domestic oil exploration,” Dr. Coburn said, referring to a package of lands bills Senator Reid wants to pass.

THAT OMNIBUS BILL represents another 10 BILLION DOLLARS of pork barrel spending. Maybe before the democrats try to raise our taxes they should get rid of this nonsensical spending.