Recently, we discovered this gem of a site on government waste of taxpayer money. Since it is an election year and we all need to vote, there will be a series of articles on our Congressional and Government Representatives. The Council for Citizens on Government Waste is a great site to watch and support on what is actually happening and how Congress and Government Officials are spending taxpayer money. All thanks go to them for their research and written content on identifying these special deals. Now let’s take a look at what the Council for Citizens on Government Waste identifies as previous Porker Awards:
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) its November 2023 Porker of the Month for trying to take away everyone’s credit card benefits.
In 2010, Sen. Durbin led the effort to pass the Durbin Amendment, which set a limit on fees that banks charge retailers for debit card transactions. This caused banks and card issuers to lose billions of dollars and forced them to eliminate popular and widely used rewards programs for debit cards. Now, Sen. Durbin is at it again by proposing legislation that would expand the Durbin Amendment to credit cards. Sen. Durbin’s bill will take away benefits used by tens of millions of consumers across the country, including travel and loyalty reward programs. The 84 percent of Americans who have a credit card with a rewards program use them to pay for groceries and gas, family vacations and holiday travel. Airline credit card benefits alone paid for 15 million flights and generated $23 billion in economic activity in 2022.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Sen. Durbin’s legislation would significantly increase the government’s control over a competitive and popular marketplace. If enacted into law, it would double down on harmful policies, damage the economy, and be a disaster for consumers. For trying to take away credit card benefits and rewards, Sen. Durbin was an easy choice for a Porker award.”
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel its October 2023 Porker of the Month for trying to resurrect terrifying net neutrality rules.
The FCC’s attempt to reimpose government control over the internet is unnecessary and wasteful. Since the 2015 Open Internet Order, also known as net neutrality, was buried by the Restoring Internet Freedom Order in December 2017, dramatic improvements and significant innovation, driven by private sector investment, have increased the number of Americans who have access to broadband. This time it could be scarier than the first time net neutrality was imposed, with the specter of rate regulation and other frightening rules. The zombie apocalypse of net neutrality will eat into future innovation and hurt Americans seeking to get connected online. It will also provide a horrifying opportunity for other countries to take over America’s position as the global leader in telecommunications.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “The net neutrality debate is pointless and should be done and buried. Chairwoman Rosenworcel should not be hell bent on reconstituting failed heavy-handed government control on an industry that is working well and constantly evolving. Americans should be terrified that she wants to snare their internet access in her web of complex regulations. For trying to resurrect the FCC’s harmful net neutrality rules, Chairwoman Rosenworcel was a hair-raising choice for this month’s Porker.”
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan its September 2023 Porker of the Month for requesting a massive 37 percent budget increase.
Chair Khan wants $590 million for fiscal year (FY) 2024, or $160 million more than the $430 million the agency received in FY 2023 to expand her agency’s regulation of every industry and aspect of the economy. Her anti-capitalist views and anti-business policies have upended more than 100 years of antitrust law enforcement based on the consumer welfare standard. Chair Khan’s heavy-handed effect on the FTC expands beyond agency actions. In 2022, the agency’s ranking, which was one of the highest in 2021 on the annual list compiled by the Partnership for Public Service and Boston Consulting Group, plummeted by more than any other federal agency.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Under Chair Khan’s leadership, the FTC has abandoned its mission, exceeded its statutory authority, and decided to stop mergers based on pure speculation they might be anti-competitive sometime in the distant future. Chair Khan’s overreach means that no business big or small or consumer is safe. Fortunately, her radical approach to antitrust law is consistently being thrown out of court. Congress should not give the FTC more power and money to wreak havoc on the economy. For undermining the FTC’s mission, turning it into a rogue agency, and harming businesses and consumers by imposing her anti-capitalist views on everything the FTC is doing, Chair Khan was an easy choice for this month’s Porker.”
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named House Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) our August 2023 Porker of the Month for receiving $273.3 million in pork-barrel earmarks.
Rep. Fleischmann has received almost 90 percent more in earmarks for fiscal year (FY) 2024 than the second highest member of the House of Representatives. The $273.3 million in earmarks is also 10 times the amount that Rep. Fleishmann secured in FY 2023. According to Roll Call, “GOP lawmakers are spreading nearly $7.4 billion among 4,714 individual projects.” Earmarks are at near-record levels since members of Congress restored the practice. Thanks to Rep. Fleishmann and many other House Republicans, whose earmark haul belies their claims of fiscal responsibility, legislators are well on their way to breaking the all-time record of $29 billion in fiscal year 2006.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Rep. Fleischmann is robbing taxpayers of their hard-earned money for his own parochial purposes. He does not need $273.3 million in pork-barrel earmarks, which are the most corrupt, costly, and inequitable practice in the history of Congress. Members of Congress like him are putting America into a bigger fiscal hole. For leading the way in the House for earmarks, Rep. Fleischmann was an easy choice for this month’s Porker.”
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) our July 2023 Porker of the Month for wanting to waste billions on an unnecessary alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
The F-35 needs an engine upgrade, not a new engine, which the Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed in its fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget request. There is $462 million for the Engine Core Upgrade (ECU) and no funding for the alternate engine. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said that the alternate engine is “not affordable,” and it does not fit into all three versions of the JSF. It would also require duplicative personnel and could jeopardize pilot safety. The initial cost of the alternate engine would be $6.7 billion, or 279 percent more than the $2.4 billion cost for the ECU. And the White House “strongly opposes” funding for the alternate engine, noting that the ECU upgrade is “more affordable and a common solution across all three F-35 variants.” But Rep. Wittman claims it would support the industrial base and the technology might be needed in the future.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Rep. Wittman’s proposal to fund the alternate engine would waste a mountain of money. The more cost-effective idea, as supported by the DOD and the White House, is to upgrade the current engine for the JSF, which would initially cost only $2.4 billion and eventually save $40 billion. There should not be any debate over which engine makes more sense for taxpayers and national security. For wanting to waste billions of dollars for an engine that should not be built, Rep. Wittman was an easy choice for this month’s Porker.”
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) our June 2023 Porkers of the Month for wanting to spend trillions of dollars more for their latest “Green New Deal” scheme.
Congress has already approved hundreds of billions for “Green New Deal” projects, but Sen. Markey and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez want even more. Their reintroduction of the “Green New Deal” is full of outrageously expensive programs. It calls for replacing all fossil fuel and nuclear power with solar energy which would require 18.7 billion solar panels and a land mass equal to the combined size of New York and Vermont. Many toxic chemicals are used to produce solar panels and every year 681,000 birds are killed by wind turbines. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was named Porker of the Year in 2019 for introducing the “Green New Deal” in the first place and was also named in November 2021 for pushing President Biden to cancel student loan debt. Sen. Markey was named CAGW’s August 2021 Porker of the Month proposing a taxpayer-funded Civilian Climate Corps that would hire millions of people and cost billions of dollars.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Sen. Markey and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Green New Deal’ is outrageously expensive and would cause enormous environmental damage to our nation while doing little to nothing to reduce pollution. Their appetite for wasteful spending is extremely harmful to taxpayers. The deal has nothing to do with protecting the environment, it is about a complete takeover of the U.S. economy and the end of capitalism. For pushing taxpayers further into debt, Sen. Markey and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez were easy choices for this month’s Porker.”
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) is our May 2023 Porker of the Month for signing a budget that bans gas stoves and furnaces in new residential buildings.
Gov. Hochul’s $229 billion budget is devastating for taxpayers, businesses, and consumers, especially the inclusion of a ban on natural gas as part of her $5 billion “Green New Deal” initiative. Beginning in 2026, newly constructed residential buildings will be required to only use electricity for heating and cooking, making New York the first state to impose such a ban. Ending the use of natural gas will take away the cheapest and most efficient form of energy for tens of millions of New Yorkers, leading to increased energy prices and diminished services. Gov. Hochul has already demonstrated a penchant for screwing over New York taxpayers when she blindsided them last year with an $850 million bill for a new Buffalo Bills stadium, which earned her May 2022’s Porker of the Month honor.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Gov. Hochul is forcing New Yorkers out into the cold by banning natural gas. The ban makes utilities unaffordable, drives up food and energy costs, fails to impact climate change, and will cost hardworking New Yorkers their jobs. Gov. Hochul’s ‘Green New Deal’ will also have adverse consequences on New York’s economy. Her natural gas ban prioritizes progressive policies and punishes consumers and taxpayers. For her harmful, unnecessary, and costly ban on natural gas, Gov. Hochul is an obvious choice for CAGW’s May 2023 Porker of the Month.”
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen our April 2023 Porker of the Month for declaring that President Biden’s “budget will deliver deficit reduction.”
Secretary Yellen claimed the budget “builds on economic progress” and makes “smart, fiscally sound investments.” But President Biden’s $6.9 trillion budget for fiscal year 2024 would increase the debt by 77 percent in 10 years from $24.6 trillion to $43.6 trillion and destroy the U.S. economy. Yet Secretary Yellen claimed that “fiscal discipline remains a central priority in our budget.” Since President Biden named Yellen as his Treasury secretary, spending has skyrocketed, and fiscal discipline has been nonexistent. She even admitted that President Biden’s $1.9 trillion “rescue plan” added to inflation. Throughout her tenure, Secretary Yellen has been leading the way inside the administration to waste the taxpayers’ money, leading to her being named CAGW’s Porker of the Month in both October 2021 and today.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “President Biden’s budget is full of new taxes and excessive spending, and Secretary Yellen is putting taxpayers in danger by saying it will reduce the deficit. President Biden’s costly polices have already added $3.7 trillion to the national debt since January 2021. Secretary Yellen cannot credibly claim that the administration is being fiscally responsible and trying to save money. For her skewed declarations of deficit reduction, Secretary Yellen is an obvious choice for CAGW’s April 2023 Porker of the Month.”
Watch Video https://www.cagw.org/porker-of-the-month/citizens-against-government-waste-names-treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-april
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is our March 2023 Porker of the Month for declaring that “education from child care to graduate school is a human right. It should be free for all.”
Article 26 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights says, “Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.” Sen. Sanders is going far beyond even the United Nations definition of education as a human right. And he not only thinks free education is a human right, but also housing, a clean environment, healthcare, and jobs. His many years of coming up with expensive ideas and proposals, like his $60 trillion “progressive” agenda, have led to him being named CAGW’s Porker of the Month three times, including today.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “It’s no surprise that Sen. Sanders does not care about taxpayers. While the Biden administration is calling for student loan forgiveness, which is expensive enough on its own, Sen. Sanders wants all levels of education to be free for everyone. His ‘human rights’ would be costly to taxpayers, exacerbate inflation, and substantially increase the size, scope, and power of the federal government to move the U.S. closer to becoming a socialist country. For his continued support of excessive spending and government giveaways, Sen. Sanders is an obvious choice for CAGW’s March 2023 Porker of the Month.”
Watch Video https://www.cagw.org/porker-of-the-month/cagw-names-senator-bernie-sanders-march-2023-porker-month
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) our February 2023 Porker of the Month for securing $666 billion in pork-barrel earmarks.
Now that earmarks are back, Sen. Shelby fed himself at the trough for 18 earmarks worth $666,406,000, which is 23 percent more than the next highest member of Congress. Sen. Shelby has always added earmarks at a prolific rate. When information on earmarks was available in 2008-2010, he added 424 earmarks costing $905 million. Sen. Shelby has a long history of acquiring wasteful pork-barrel earmarks and has been named CAGW’s Porker of the Month six times including today. As a long-time member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, including ranking member before he retired in 2022, Sen. Shelby poured hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks into the University of Alabama, where multiple buildings on multiple campuses have been named after him and his wife Annette.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Sen. Shelby’s sense of fiscal discipline does not exist. For his entire career, he ignored the glaring red sign that says earmarks are one of the most corrupt, costly, and inequitable practices in the history of Congress. Unfortunately, too many other members of Congress are following his lead by wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on their personal pet projects. Although Sen. Shelby has retired, he left behind a long legacy of wasteful pork-barrel earmarks. For once again securing hundreds of millions in earmarks, Sen. Shelby is an obvious choice for CAGW’s February Porker of the Month. Good riddance to the Pork King!”
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) our January 2023 Porker of the Month for thinking it is a bad idea to cut off $80 billion to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to go after taxpayers.
On January 9, 2023, House Republicans voted to rescind the $80 billion allocated in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to create an 87,000 strong IRS auditor army and a wasteful $15 million study on whether the IRS should create its own tax prep program. Sen. Wyden is falsely claiming that rescinding IRS funding will allow some Americans to continue to “cheat” on taxes. For many years, the IRS has been plagued with waste and mismanagement. The IRA increased IRS funding by 600 percent, making the agency’s budget larger than the State Department, FBI, and Customs and Border Patrol combined. Sen. Wyden thinks that if more money is poured into the dysfunctional IRS, “we could shore up Medicare and Social Security,” except those programs are not funded by income taxes.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Sen. Wyden’s objection to cutting $80 billion for 87,000 IRS auditors and $15 million for a duplicative and unnecessary tax prep program means more audits for millions of small businesses and Americans making less than $200,000, and no changes in the agency’s decades-long mismanagement. The national debt is $31.5 trillion and climbing while inflation continues to soar. Sen. Wyden is putting taxpayers last as he wants to pour more money into a problematic government agency. Members of Congress like him should be working to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. For thinking that the IRS should be given more money to go after more taxpayers, Sen. Wyden is an obvious choice for CAGW’s January Porker of the Month.”
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.
Watch Video https://www.cagw.org/porker-of-the-month/cagw-names-senator-ron-wyden-january-2023-porker-month
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (D) is our November 2022 Porker of the Month for falsely claiming that Democrats should not be blamed for inflation.
On October 30, 2022, Secretary Buttigieg sat down with CNN’s Chris Wallace to discuss America’s crushing inflation. Wallace pointed out that prices are up 8.2 percent over last year and asked Secretary Buttigieg why shouldn’t voters hold Democrats responsible for inflation, to which he replied, “because what we are doing is helping with the cost of living.” That is unequivocally false (unless he meant making everything more costly). For months, Democrats have refused to take any responsibility for what have done to raise prices. Since President Biden took office, inflation increased by 13.2 percent to the highest levels in more than 40 years. Secretary Buttigieg also claimed that the Inflation Reduction Act “allows people to pay less for things,” but everyone who buys anything knows that is incorrect.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Secretary Buttigieg and his fellow Democrats need to stop being inflation deniers and start fixing the devastating economic problems they have caused. Inflation is skyrocketing, Americans are struggling, and they are fed up with higher prices. It’s time for Congressional Leaders to step up and challenge Secretary Buttigieg’s inflation fraud. Taxpayers are certainly not thankful for Secretary Buttigieg and the Biden administration making them pay the highest prices ever for gas and food on Thanksgiving. For refusing to take responsibility for his party’s contributions to inflation, Secretary Buttigieg was an easy choice for CAGW’s November Porker of the Month.”
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.
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