Hawaii U.S. Senators Inouye and Akaka Highlighted for $8.2 Million in Pork Funding

BY LESLIE PAIGE – (Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste today released its preliminary analysis of the Senate version of the fiscal year 2011 Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations Act.  The bill contains 529 pork-barrel projects at a cost of $372.5 million.  Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) requested 22 projects totaling $26,975,000, while Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) requested 12 projects at a cost of $48,050,000, for a combined 13 percent of the total.

The following are among the most egregious examples of pork in the bill:

$30,000,000 by Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) to construct an interdisciplinary science and engineering teaching and research corridor at the University of Alabama.  This earmark is equivalent to 5.8 percent of the university’s $516 million endowment.

$8,200,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) for the Kauai and Honolulu Police Departments, including $5,000,000 to fund Asia-Pacific economic cooperation.

$8,040,000 by 10 senators for fish and shellfish related projects in six states, including:  $3,000,000 by Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) for Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration and $400,000 by Senate appropriator Susan Collins (R-Maine) for community based lobster research in Portland.  This is an extremely fishy use of tax dollars.

$900,000 for two projects to benefit the shrimp industry, including $500,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) for shrimp industry fishing effort research continuation and $400,000 by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) for shrimp industry fishing research.

$350,000 by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) for green technology and equipment for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office.

Submitted by Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.

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