December - Porker of the Month

CAGW Names Sen. Tom Harkin
Porker of the Month


Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) Porker of the Month for proudly proclaiming himself to be an unabashed supporter of earmarks.


On November 25, The New York Times published a story on incoming Appropriations subcommittee chairs, or “Cardinals.” The article quoted Sen. Harkin as saying, “I happen to be a supporter of earmarks, unabashedly. But I don’t call them earmarks. It is ‘Congressional directed spending.’ ”


This is a prime example of Washington doublespeak because all federal spending is directed by Congress. Sen. Harkin implies that Congress can spend money however it wants and that earmarking is a normal part of the budget process. In reality, earmarking is a secretive, corrupting, and wasteful practice that bypasses normal budget procedures. That is why most earmarks are properly called “pork.” Furthermore, the proliferation and widespread abuse of earmarks is a relatively recent phenomenon.


The Times also noted Sen. Harkin’s habit of earmarking millions of dollars in defense spending for breast cancer research. He responded, “Now, was that bad? If you left it to the Defense Department, they never would have done it.”


The reason the Defense of Department does not conduct cancer research on its own accord is that such spending, along with thousands of other pork-barrel projects costing nearly $15 billion last year, falls outside its national security mission. In fiscal 2005, the federal government spent $560.1 million on breast cancer research through the National Cancer Institute. If Sen. Harkin wants more funding for breast cancer research, his proposal should be debated, authorized, and integrated into the federal government’s existing research framework; not snuck into an unrelated bill. The duplication of efforts across different departments and agencies weakens the government’s overall approach to all research.


Sen. Harkin, set to chair the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee in the 110th Congress, has helped to pull in $275,503,642 in pork for his state since 2000, including $1,000,000 for development of an American River Museum in Dubuque (2002) and $250,000 for the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo (2006).


A recently-announced, year-long joint resolution will apparently stave off the earmarks in the nine unfinished appropriations bills for fiscal 2007. Also, a “moratorium” on earmarks is in place until budget reforms are passed. For defending earmarking in the face of widespread agreement over its defects, for bringing home hundreds of millions of dollars in pork-barrel spending, and for muddying the priorities of federal departments, CAGW names Sen. Tom Harkin its Porker of the Month for December 2006.


The Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.