Porkers of the Month: Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Patrick Leahy

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) March Porkers of the Month for agreeing to bring back corrupt, costly, and inequitable earmarks.  Congress has squandered $375.7 billion on 111,417 earmarks since 1991, with $15.9 wasted in fiscal year 2020 alone.  There has been a moratorium on earmarks since 2011, but now Rep. DeLauro and Sen. Leahy are trying to disguise their resurrection by renaming them “Community Project Funding” and claiming they will be more transparent. For bringing back the most corrupt practice in Congressional history, Rep. DeLauro and Sen. Leahy are the March Porkers of the Month. Read more about the Porkers of the Month.

CAGW Releases Waste-Cutting Plan for the 117th Congress

In response to an annual deficit of $3.1 trillion for fiscal year 2020 and a national debt that exceeds $28 trillion, CAGW released Critical Waste Issues for the 117th Congress on March 24.   From civil service and regulatory reform to healthcare and defense spending, Critical Waste Issues details 17 policy areas that lawmakers should focus on to cut waste and improve management and transparency. In announcing the report’s release, CAGW President Tom Schatz commented, “When questions are asked about where spending can be cut, answers can be found in publications like Critical Waste Issues for the 117th Congress. As members of Congress continue to consider some of the costliest legislation in U.S. history, they must also consider how to restrain unnecessary expenditures. This publication should be required reading for every member of Congress and all taxpayers and serve as a blueprint for reining in out-of-control federal spending.” Read or download CAGW’s new report.

Tomorrow: Facebook Live Conversation with Rep. Kevin Hern

CAGW President Tom Schatz will host a conversation with Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) on Facebook Live tomorrow, April 1, at 12 p.m. EDT.  Rep. Hern has represented Oklahoma’s first congressional district since 2018 and serves on the Ways and Means Committee.  He also was elected as chairman of the House Republican Study Committee’s Budget Task Force for the 117th Congress.  Rep. Hern and Tom will discuss the federal budget, how to address the debt being accrued due to COVID-19 “relief” and infrastructure spending under the Biden administration, earmarks, healthcare, and funding for state and local governments in the pandemic relief packages.  To watch this live conversation, please go to www.facebook.com/CAGW.  The conversation will also be archived on the page if you are unable to view it live.  Visit CAGW’s Facebook page. 

From “The WasteWatcher”

Millions of people in the United States are working for themselves, but the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) threatens to limit these freedoms and opportunities, explains CAGW State Government Affairs Associate Frances Floresca in “The WasteWatcher,” CAGW’s staff blog.  The PRO Act would take one of California’s failed policies and turn it into federal law and force many independent contractors to be considered employees.  The bill would also overturn right-to-work laws in the states that allow employees to choose for themselves whether to join a union, and force workers to pay for labor union dues.  The PRO Act would violate employee privacy by forcing employers to hand over employee’s personal information to union organizers without their consent, including addresses and phone numbers, potentially allowing intimidation and harassment. The PRO Act would do significant damage to the economy and threaten the jobs and livelihoods of workers if the bill was enacted.  While the economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress should not be increasing the burdens on American workers and businesses.  Read more in “The WasteWatcher.”