Citizens Against Government Waste

Citizens Against Government Waste’s crack Research Team has identified 459 pork-barrel earmarks, costing taxpayers $329.6 million, in the House version of the fiscal year 2011 Department of Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Act.

Tell us which of the following THUD pet projects YOU think is the most wasteful, irresponsible expenditure by lawmakers in the face of our nation’s $1.3 trillion deficit:
•$6,800,000 for streetscape design in 12 cities across the country. House appropriator Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) requested the largest amount, $1,000,000 for downtown Tacoma, Wash.
•$1,750,000 requested by House appropriator Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) for “The Wave,” a 2.7-mile downtown streetcar system in Fort Lauderdale that is estimated to cost $46 million per mile.
•$750,000 added by Reps. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) and Dina Tutus (D-Nev.) for the construction of a solar power array at the Three Square Food Bank in Las Vegas. According to the organization’s website, $1 can pay for three individual meals, so for the cost of the solar power array, needy citizens could receive 2,250,000 meals.
•$500,000 for a new ferry service in Berkeley, Calif. Requested by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), these federal tax dollars will pay for the acquisition of two ferries, which would come equipped with solar panels.
•$150,000 added by Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.) for renovation of the Tibbits Opera House in Coldwater, Mich. According to financial information provided in the opera house’s most recent annual report, charging an additional $3.56 per ticket would offset the cost of the renovations without burdening federal taxpayers, the vast majority of whom will never visit the Tibbits Opera House.
Please take a moment right now to take our PORK ALERT SURVEY. http://membership.cagw.org/site/Survey?SURVEY_ID=3480&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&autologin=true
We will publicize and use the results to demonstrate overwhelming public opposition to our elected officials’ frivolous, self-serving spending that is corrupting the budgetary process and driving the federal deficit to record levels.