What Some People Call "Pork"

An astounding amount of space was given to the Citizens Against Government Waste in today's NY Times OpEd page, proclaiming the Democrats are "feeding at the trough," and "sink[ing] their fiscal credibility."

Granted, there are no bridges to abandoned Alaska islands, no terror-proofing petting zoos, bingo halls and popcorn factories, and no abstinence education - and CAGW used to praise funding homeland security measures. Once upon a time, that is. Apparently, that's now pork, too.

According to the CAGW, this is all "pork":

• $500 million for emergency wildfires suppression; the Forest Service currently has $831 million for this purpose;
• $400 million for rural schools;
• $283 million for the Milk Income Loss Contract program;
• $120 million to compensate for the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the shrimp and menhaden fishing industries;
• $850 million for Department of Homeland Security grants ($625M for rail/transit grants, $190M for port security grants, and $35M for urban area security grants); 
• $660 million for the procurement of an explosives detection system for the Transportation Security Administration;
• $640 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program;
• $425 million for education grants for rural areas;
• $388.9 million for a backlog of Department of Transportation projects;
• $165.9 million (including $60.4 million for salmon fisheries in the Klamath Basin region) for fisheries disaster relief;
• $100 million for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions;
• $95 million for dairy producers;
• $75 million for salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency;
• $48 million in disaster construction money for NASA;
• $25 million for grants through the Safe and  Drug-Free Schools Program.
• $25 million for asbestos abatement at the Capitol Power Plant;
• $24 million to sugar beet producers;
• $22.8 million for geothermal research and development;
• $20 million for reimbursements to Nevada for "insect damage;"
• $13 for the Ewe Lamb Replacement and Retention Program;
• $12 million for Forest Service money requested by the president in the non-emergency FY2008 budget
• $3.5 million for guided tours of the Capitol;
• $3 million for sugar cane

Comments

[ted]

"$100 million for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions;"

So the republicans will be giving their share back to protest the pork?