Pork Alert:Senate Financial Services

CAGW`s Pork PatrolSM Takes a Closer Look at Fiscal 2010 Financial Services Pork
WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released its preliminary analysis
of the Senate version of the fiscal year 2010 Financial Services and General
Government Appropriations Act. In this year`s version, there are 105 projects
worth $31.9 million. Some of the biggest porkers were Senate Financial Services
Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) with nine projects
worth $4,300,000, and Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad
Cochran (R-Miss.) with eight projects worth $4,100,000. The combined amount
accounts for 26.4 percent of the dollar total in the bill.

Here are some examples of the pork in the bill:

* $500,000 by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran
(R-Miss.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) for the Entrepreneurship Center to
Develop New Entity Creation (ECDEC) at Mississippi State University. According
to Rep. Travis Childers` (D-Miss.) website, the ECDEC will "address the
immediate demand for entrepreneurial expertise regarding the commercialization
of existing and future discoveries generated by, or in collaboration with MSU."
* $400,000 by Senate Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman
Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) for Western Illinois University for the Small Business
Development Center. The University`s website lists only one faculty person for
the Center.
* $250,000 by Senate appropriator Bryon Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Sen. Kent Conrad
(D-N.D.) for the Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture at Minot State
University-Bottineau. According to its website, the center is "committed to
furthering greenhouse production of organic and specialty vegetables in North
Dakota." North Dakota is not among the leading states in horticulture sales.
* $200,000 by Senate Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking
Member Susan Collins (R-Maine) for the Kelley Road Business Park in Orono,
Maine. According to Sen. Collins` website, "The project will build essential
infrastructure to attract the private capital needed to create jobs." Evidently,
the federal government knows best and is going to boldly invest where no
previous venture capitalists have gone before.
* $200,000 by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) for the
Downtown Revitalization "Toolbox" program. The funds will be used to reduce
building vacancies in downtown Salem.

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

Citizens Against Government Waste
Leslie K. Paige, 202-467-5334

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