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*Porker of the Month: Rep. Tom Cole*

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"Watch CAGW's January Porker of the Month Video [ [link removed] ]"

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) Porker of the Month for his leading role in the charge to revive self-serving, special interest earmarks. Since 1991, CAGW has documented [ [link removed] ] that members of Congress squandered $330 billion of taxpayer dollars on earmarks for wasteful pork-barrel projects like Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere," Iowa's indoor tropical rain forest, and North Carolina's teapot museum. The earmark era created rampant corruption and a decade of scandals that resulted in jail terms for Reps. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) and Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Neglecting history, many House Republicans are now fighting to lift the moratorium on earmarks that has been in place since 2011, with Rep. Cole one of the very loudest supporters. For pushing to resurrect one of the most wasteful and corrupt practices in congressional history, Rep. Cole is the January Porker of the Month. "Read more about the Porker of the Month [ [link removed] ]."

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CAGW Storms Capitol Hill to Stop Earmarks


On January 18, CAGW President Tom Schatz testified before the House Rules Committee opposing efforts in the House of Representatives to restore the practice of earmarking. Later that afternoon, CAGW headlined a Capitol Hill press conference with members of the House and other conservative groups standing together against the return of earmarks for wasteful pork-barrel projects. Speakers at the press conference included Reps. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and leaders from The Club for Growth, Heritage Action for America, National Taxpayers Union, and other conservative pro-taxpayer groups. The message from the testimony and press conference was clear and concise: No Earmarks. "Read CAGW President Tom Schatz's testimony [ [link removed] ] and watch the press conference [ [link removed] ]. "

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*CCAGW Leads Coalition to Prevent Earmarks
*

Complementing CAGW's educational efforts, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) spearheaded a lobbying and grassroots drive this month to stop the return of pork-barrel earmarks. On January 10, CCAGW and other conservative organizations sent a letter [ [link removed] ] to President Donald Trump expressing opposition to earmarks. The following day, CCAGW distributed a fact sheet [ [link removed] ] to Capitol Hill offices that separates earmark myth from reality. Then on January 26, CCAGW sent a letter [ [link removed] ] cosigned by other pro-taxpayer groups and conservative leaders to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Ohio) opposing earmarks and demanding that any vote on their return be held openly, transparently, and publicly, not in secret. Throughout the month, CCAGW launched multiple Action Alert campaigns targeting House Rules Committee members and House Republicans. To date, these campaigns have delivered thousands of constituent e-mails to Capitol Hill offices demanding that the earmark moratorium remain in place. "Tell your U.S. Representative to vote against any effort to restore earmarks [ [link removed] ]. "

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*From "The WasteWatcher"
*

On January 1, Seattle rang in the New Year with a new 1.75 cent per ounce tax on sweetened beverages. The tax was the brainchild of disgraced former Mayor Ed Murray, who described it as a "cutting-edge piece of legislation." Unfortunately, the mayor ignored the ignoble history of other soda taxes, as noted by Spencer Chretien, CAGW's State Policy and Government Affairs Manager, on CAGW's blog, "The WasteWatcher." Despite their lofty aims, soda taxes don't make people healthier. They don't increase tax revenue, instead pushing it outside of city limits where consumers purchase their sweetened beverages to avoid the tax. Seattle retailers like Costco have posted signs directing customers to soda tax-free locations in the suburbs. These regressive taxes don't ease inequality, but make the poor poorer. In Seattle's case, the new tax has increased the cost of a case of Gatorade from $15.99 to $26.33. The move to tax sodas in Seattle has a particularly West Coast flavor, as three of the top five paternalistic nanny states are California, Oregon, and Washington. While nanny staters look toward Seattle, the citizens of the city should stand up and stop this tax madness, concludes Chretien. "Read more on "The WasteWatcher," CAGW's staff blog [ [link removed] ]. "

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*Take Action!*

Tell Congress: Vote against the Return of Earmarks! [ [link removed] ]

Tell Congress: Reinstate Medicare's Best Fraud-Fighting Program! [ [link removed] ] _________________________________________

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*Commentary*

"Deregulation Is What Rural America Needs in Order to Join the Broadband Party [ [link removed] ]"
by Deborah Collier, Director of Technology and Telecommunications Policy
"The Hill"
January 29, 2018

"Pension Plans Can't Be the Next Big Taxpayer Bailout in America [ [link removed] ]"
by Tom Schatz, President
"The Hill"
January 3, 2018

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*Public Comments*

Comments on FCC 2018 Lifeline Reform Proposal [ [link removed] ] _________________________________________



* In the News ...*



"Roll Call"
(January 18, 2018)
"House Lawmakers Ready to Carve Some Pork [ [link removed] ]"

C-SPAN
(January 13, 2018)
Interview with CAGW President Tom Schatz on Washington Journal [ [link removed] ]

"Reason"
(January 11, 2018)
"Republicans Have Made Two Arguments for Bringing Back Earmarks. They're Both Wrong. [ [link removed] ]"

ABC News
(January 10, 2018)
"In Offhand Comment, Trump Reignites Debate Over Congressional Earmarks [ [link removed] ]" _________________________________________













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Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest taxpayer watchdog group with more than one million members and supporters nationwide. It is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Contributions to CAGW are tax-deductible as charitable contributions to the extent permitted by law. For more information about CAGW, visit our website at www.cagw.org. Make a tax-deductible contribution today to renew your membership in CAGW for 2018 [ [link removed] ].

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