Billions Spent on Pork Projects Would Fund Notch Reform

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Billions Spent on Pork Projects Would Fund Notch Reform

Over the last three years the federal government spent more on pork than what it would have cost to pay Notch Reform benefits. According to the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), a group that monitors federal pork barrel spending, the government will spend a record $20.1 billion in fiscal 2002 on pork.(1) In the last three years, CAGW reports the number of individual pork projects has nearly quadrupled from 2,143 to 8,341 at a total cost of $56.3 billion.* The Notch Fairness Act which would provide seniors born from 1917 through 1926 with either an improved monthly benefit, or $5,000 in four annual installments, is estimated to cost about $45 billion over four years.

Every dollar wasted on pork is a dollar that could help a Notch Baby pay for expensive prescription drugs or health care costs. It is highly troubling to consider why projects such as the following examples seem to have received a higher priority.

$50,000 for a tattoo removal program in San Luis Obispo, California
$1,000,000 for infrastructure improvements and to build a multipurpose event center at the Southern New Mexico Fair and Rodeo in Dona Ana County
$273,000 to combat “Goth” culture in Blue Springs, Missouri
$400,000 for manure management research at the National Swine Center in Iowa
$95,000 for the West Virginia State Museum Civil War regimental flag collection
$900,000 for development of an entertainment/retail complex in Amish farm area Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Members of Congress will return to their home districts during August. Many will meet with constituents in local town hall meetings, local events, and their state offices. We urge you to take this opportunity to meet your lawmakers and make the case for Notch reform. Ask your Member of the House and Senators to “bring home the bacon” for all the Notch Babies in his or her district and state by enacting The Notch Fairness Act. For a list of Notch legislation and co-sponsors, read "Notch Reform Legislation."

* To be listed as pork barrel by the Citizens Against Government Waste, a project must meet one or more of the following criteria:

Requested by only one chamber of Congress
Not specifically authorized
Not requested by the President
Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding
Not the subject of Congressional hearings
Serves only a local or special interest

(1) CAGW Identifies $20.1 Billion In Pork,” Citizens Against Government Waste, April 9, 2002.

To sign our online Petition to the U.S. Senate for the $5,000 Notch Victim Settlement, click here: http://action.tscl.org/NotchVictimsSettlement.asp.

July 2002