THE D.C. WRITEUP » The Coburn Pork Report

The Pork Report – July 31, 2009

AJ Fluehr — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:01:25 +0000

$542,000,000

Shovel Ready Faces Off vs. Infrastructure – AP
Tens of thousands of decrepit bridges are not being repaired because the Obama administration wants stimulus projects that can be easily implemented.

Stimulus This is Not – Benton County Daily Record (Arkansas)
An Arkansas school district is using stimulus money to send all of its teachers to a national conference being held in the district, meaning they will be taking up 75% of all available spots.

Porkers: Not Present but Presence Still Felt – Politico
Senators Kennedy and Byrd, despite illness, continue to have significant sway in accruing earmarks. Byrd has received $109 million and Kennedy has $8 million for this session.

Ohio House Members Just as Corrupt as You’d Think - Coshocton Tribune
Members of the Ohio congressional delegation have secretly been requesting stimulus funds be used in their districts contrary to the Obama administration’s wishes.

Like Woah, Did You Know Paper has Two Sides? – Wall Street Journal
The Department of Justice has now begun to use double sided copies in an effort to reduce overhead.

New York Pays Up for Ripping Us Off
The state and city of New York have agreed to pay $540 million in a settlement over allegations they used false claims to fleece Medicaid.

Pork Report – July 27, 2009

AJ Fluehr — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:07:05 +0000

$54,000,000

Get Stimulated with Malt Liquor and Weed – The Post Standard (New York)
Almost $1 million in stimulus money is being used to pay malt liquor and weed users to call a telephone number and talk about their daily habits.

Iowa Wasting Money on Historic Poop – The Des Moines Register
Iowa bureaucrats are forcing Iowa cities to spend tens of thousands of dollars to determine whether sewers should be considered historic and preserved. These actions are also delaying millions of stimulus dollars from being pumped into the local economy.

More Bike Tales – Finance and Commerce
Minnesota is planning on building a $1.5 million bike trail to the Minnesota Twins stadium.

Shiny Wheels From Australia – Whittier Daily News
A transit company spent $250,000 of stimulus money on wheel polishers…from Australia.

Buses to Nowhere – The Union Leader (New Hampshire)
$2 million of stimulus money is being spent on four buses, creating four or five jobs at most.

High Speed Rail Boondoggle – Janesville Gazette (Wisconsin)
A high speed rail line will be implemented between Madison and Milwaukee, but some question its practicality.

Pork Report – July 23, 2009

AJ Fluehr — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:41:18 +0000

$54,000,000

Common Sense Prevails at Last – Wall Street Journal
Government agencies are instructing conference planners to avoid booking salacious meetings in cities like Las Vegas and Orlando, instead preferring the dullness of places like St. Louis or Milwaukee.

Disaster Money Management A Disaster – AP
“A group that represents North Dakota’s ambulance and emergency workers was ordered Wednesday to repay more than $124,000 in federal disaster planning money spent on alcohol, lobbying and other questionable expenses.”

If We Pass Cap and Trade This Would Make Sense Because No One Could Afford Cars – Pike County Press
Pennsylvania is spending millions of dollars paving bicycle lanes while actual roads are falling into disrepair.

Government Officials Inflating Stimulus Impact – Salt Lake Tribune
Utah officials have been overestimating how many jobs have been created by stimulus funding for road projects.

Happy Trails – The Missoulian (Montana)
Western Montana park and forest facilities, as well as trails, to get improvements with stimulus money.

Arizona DOT Officials Clearly Do Not Read the News – Arizona Republic
ADOT awarded the largest stimulus funded highway project to a company that only three days earlier had plead guilty to filing fraudulent tax returns.

Because Philadelphia is Where You Go to Learn Efficiency – Honolulu Star-Bulletin
16 Hawaii Democrats traveled to Philadelphia to discuss issues with lawmakers from other states prompting criticism that the number of delegates attending the conference was excessive.

Beautification = Infrastructure – Tuscaloosa News (Alabama)
Tuscaloosa, Ala. is using $4.5 million in stimulus money to beautify one of its streets. Stimulus money is supposed to be spent on improving infrastructure. No word on if that includes beautification.

Not Exactly Stimulus – Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register
Three California libraries plan to use $150,000 in stimulus money for an automatic book distribution system and new flooring and shelves.

Can’t See Anything Going Wrong With This – AP
States have used over $200 million slated for 911 system upgrades for budget deficits, campaign promises, and police uniforms.

Pork Report – July 21, 2009

AJ Fluehr — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:48:59 +0000

West Virginia Not Helping Itself with the Dumb Hick Stereotype – Charleston Gazette
A West Virginia marketing firm bought alcohol, stayed at a Ritz-Carlton and paid for the care of a felon’s pet with federal money.

Beat it, Jussst Beat it – UNCG University News (North Carolina)
Part of a $375,000 National Science Foundation grant was used to teach summer campers about “science of musical sounds in all species.” The program is called UBEATS.

The NSF Bugs the Hell Out of Me – The Brookings Register (South Dakota)
The NSF gave $2 million to “The Lost Ladybug Project” to collect information on why some lady bugs are becoming increasingly rare.

Surprise! The Pentagon Wastes Money – AP
The Defense Departments use of no-bid contracts, especially with stimulus funds, costs three times as much as contracts awarded when firms compete with each other.

Pennsylvania Wastes Money to Advertise That It’s Wasting Money – The Morning Call (Pennsylvania)
Penn DOT has spent $60,000 on signs to advertise that road projects are funded by the stimulus.

Predictable Delays Not Predicted – LA Times
Only 1/3rd of stimulus road projects have been approved since the stimulus was passed.

FDA Incompetent – AP
The FDA does have the capabilities to project its own budget needs.

Really? Who’s Idea Was This? Was it Geithner? - AP
The Treasury Department was going to pay a cartoonist to lighten the mood at the agency. Those plans have been canceled. A CPA will now draw humorous stick figures instead.

Raided Company Loses Earmark – Roll Call
One of the defense contractors linked to John Murtha had their $4 million earmark revoked.

Pork Report – July 16, 2009

AJ Fluehr — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:48:16 +0000

$500,000,000

Congress Travels to France, Descent into Socialism Explained – USA Today

Congress has spent $5.2 million on travel oversees, a 6% increase from 2006.

North Carolina County Tripping Out Mannnn … in California – Burlington Times News

A North Carolina county is using a $9 million federal grant to pay for a $13,000 trip to California.

Free Cell Phones for Poor People, Cable Next – Charleston Daily Mail

West Virginia is giving out free pre-paid cell phones to those in poverty as a way for them to “stay connected.”

Why in the World Does Alaska Keep Getting All This Money? – Juneau Empire

A 50 mile stretch of Alaskan highway is going to cost almost $500 million.

Guam Dumps Federal Money Into Landfill – Pacific Daily News

Guam has received $104 million federal dollars to build a new landfill.

Clearly Movie Tickets Are a Valid Use of School Funds – Houston Chronicle

The Houston School District spent $152,300 federal dollars on things like movie tickets, gift cards, and catering. They will have to refund the money.

I Get Stimulated By Asian Dance – Blaine Northern Light

Stimulus money was used to pay for “Asian cultural performances.”

Pork Report – July 15, 2009

AJ Fluehr — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:41:01 +0000

$11,065,000

Because Social Security Isn’t Screwed Up Enough Already – ABC News
700 Social Security Administration (SSA) executives attended a decked out $700,000 conference in Phoenix, AZ because they said death threats against them were taking an emotional toll. In other news, the entire US military is booked in Las Vegas next weekend to deal with the stress of “getting shot at and providing freedom for insecure SSA executives.”

DC Isn’t THAT Expensive – KXXV News Channel 25 (Texas)
A school district in Texas spent more than $56,000 in travel costs, mostly to Washington DC.

University of North Carolina Single Handedly Ruining Science – WSOC TV 9 (North Carolina)
UNC Charlotte got $27 million dollars in federal funding, much of it used for arcane and relatively useless studies.

Giddy Up, Waste Our Money Pennsylvania – The Express-Times (Pennsylvania)
The Bethlehem, Pa police department has bought two horses with $40,000 of stimulus money.

Money Money Everywhere… And Not a Drop of That Fiscal Responsibility Thing – USA Today
Some organizations, agencies, and programs are seeing such massive budget increases they don’t believe they will be able implement effective oversight.

I’M ON A BOAT! – Baltimore Business Journal
$1.6 million of the stimulus are being used to fund Baltimore’s water taxis.

Hey Cool, More Military Money Wasted – St. Petersburg Times
Federal agents have raided a Florida based defense contractor that has received tens of millions of dollars in defense contracts.

The Sky is Blue, Grass is Green, and John Murtha is Corrupt – Washington Post
John Murtha D-Pa. directed millions of dollars to companies that didn’t complete work, did unrelated work using earmark money, and had hidden owners with conflicts of interest.

Appropriations Panel as Transparent as, Well, a Pork Tenderloin – Roll Call
The Appropriations Committee disposed of letters from Congressmen requesting earmarks meaning it could be impossible to identify earmark sponsors from before 2007.

Defense Companies to Receive Billions for Defense, Still Nothing for Tribute – The Hill
The Senate Armed Services Committee earmarked $9 billion onto the defense appropriations bill.

Boxer is a Porker - Roll Call
The House and Senate committees authorizing the highway bill have taken different approaches, with Chairwoman Barbara Boxer taking the pork laden route.

Pork Report – July 14, 2009

AJ Fluehr — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:00:07 +0000

Don't worry, it's fish, not pork.

This is Why We Passed the Stimulus? – Mercury News (Silicon Valley)
$175,000 of federal stimulus money, distributed through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), is being given to “The San Jose Museum of Art, Children’s Musical Theater of San Jose, TheatreWorks and San Jose Jazz.”

This is Why We Passed the Stimulus? Part Two – San Francisco Chronicle
Over $1.5 million in grants has been awarded through the NEA to San Francisco based arts organizations to economically stimulating organizations such as the Bay Area Video Coalition, Asian Art Museum of Foundation of San Francisco, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum.

Surprise! Federal Government Has Skewed Spending Priorities – CBS Evening News
Small, little used airports receive disproportionate amounts of stimulus money that could be used to upgrade the nation’s busiest airports.

New Hampshire Misses Point of Stimulus – Union Leader
New Hampshire has received $400 million in federal stimulus money and has created only 34 full time jobs, 50 jobs total. [ed. If you halve that number to $200 million and assume everyone is getting paid $75,000, that still comes out to over 2,600 jobs. Where is all that money going?

Is the Stimulus an Excuse to Give Hippies Money? – Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (California)
The American Museum of Ceramic Art received $50,000 in stimulus money from the NEA.

Crabbbbb People, Crabbbbb People – Associated Press
$700,000 in stimulus money has been allotted to help fisherman retrieve lost crab pots that now sit at the bottom of the ocean.

Diadromous Fish Now being Stimulated As Well – Connecticut Post
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has given $2.5 million dollars of stimulus money to build a fish ladder in Connecticut.

Pork Report – July 13, 2009

AJ Fluehr — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:00:34 +0000

$80,000,000

“Self-Appointed Police of the Senate” – Roll Call
Senators Coburn, DeMint, and McCain are scrutinizing tax dollars and the way the Senate spends them, prompting both a Democratic and a Republican aide to call them “knuckleheads.”

Our Spending Policies are Resting On Pillars of Sand – Press of Atlantic City
A lobbyist has built a fortune by becoming the “go-to guy” for getting sand delivered to New Jersey towns for beach replenishment.

Democrats Actually Cut Pork, Will Most Likely Find Other Way to Waste Money – Roll Call
Rep. Maxine Waters wanted $1 million to be given to a building that is named after her, to which Rep. David Obey called her out of line.

Republicans Institute Stringent Ethics Rules – Roll Call
Republican reps in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee have severely restricted the way in which lobbyists can do business.

City Governments/Federal Government Inefficient Cesspools, Newspaper Surprised – Atlanta Journal Constitution
The federal government gave $53 million dollars to improve poor communities in Atlanta, however, due to regulations they now have to return $30 million.

FEMA, Noted Exemplar of Efficiency, Wasted $7 million, Including Disaster Relief Funds – Associated Press
FEMA ignored federal regulations and built two warehouses worth $7 million, some of it slated for disaster victims.

Apparently Florida Really Cares About Its Turtles – ABC News
Among other outrages $3.4 million has been allotted to help turtles cross a road.

The Coburn Pork Report

AJ Fluehr — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:54:24 +0000

Pork Report Summary
Senator Tom Coburn’s office puts out the Pork Report, a conglomeration of news articles that highlights wasteful spending. Unfortunately, they find so much of it, there’s no way to read it quickly. For your convenience, we summarize each story in one or two lines so you can find the information you’re looking for.

Running total: $23,607,073,200

Pork Report – July 9, 2009

AJ Fluehr — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:53:02 +0000

$20,000,000

Stimulus Money To Water Golf Course – San Mateo County Times
$2.2 million of stimulus money is being used to pipe fifty gallons of recycled water to a California golf course.

Recovery Money to Save Mouse Habitat, No Word on Jobs – Washington Times
$16.1 million in stimulus money will be going to Speaker Pelosi’s district to save the habitat of a harvest mouse.

Texas Has Too Much Money, Would Like Less Of It – Dallas Morning News
Some Texas agencies have received stimulus money in such large amounts officials are concerned the money will not be spent wisely.

Union Members (aka “teachers”) To Be Lectured on Efficiency- Pacific Daily News
The Pacific Education Conference in Guam will include a presentation by the US Department of Education on guidelines for spending stimulus money.

US House Bike Sharing Program May Be Ended, Hippies Devastated – The Hill
A bike sharing program for the US House has seen little use and cost over $23,000.

What Rich People Like: Plants – National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation funded a study that determined wealthier neighborhoods have more plants.

Foggy Bottom, Renowned for Transparency, Is Missing Sensitive Laptops – Associated Press
The State Department randomly reviewed over 300 laptops and found 27 missing and most classified computers without basic security measures.

NEA to Hold Books at Ransom – AScribe Newswire
The NEA is sponsoring an event at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin on “The Life and Legacy of Edgar Allen Poe.”

Central Maine Needs More Trees – The Morning Sentinel (Maine)
$8,000 in federal money, provided by the U.S. Forest Service, is being used to plant 30 trees to line the streets of a Maine town.

National Science Foundation Pays Old People to Play Video Games – Triangle Business Journal (NC)
$1.2 million was spent by the NSF to find out if playing video games stimulates cognitive thinking in seniors.

NSF Spends Money to Evaluate Spending of Money; No Funding Slated to Study Irony – USGov Info
The NSF is spending at least $400,000 to study what kind of effect stimulus projects have on the sciences.

Federally Funded Dog Days of Summer – Gulf Times
The NSF is expected to fund a study by American scientists in Qatar designed to discover where dogs were domesticated.