Private group says federal 'pork' spending reaches record level

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal "pork barrel" spending has reached record levels, a private watchdog group said Tuesday, totaling $18.5 billion so far this fiscal year.

Citizens Against Government Waste, which will release a detailed analysis of the spending Wednesday, said the number of projects it considers to be "pork" has increased by 46 percent since last year.

VIDEO Sen. Trent Lott, (R) Mississippi, tells CNN's Jonathan King that 'pork is in the eye of the beholder' Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     MESSAGE BOARD "Pork barrel" spending

The group says since 1991, $119 billion has been spent on what it calls pork barrel projects.

In its annual "2001 Congressional Pig Book Summary," the organization defines "pork" as projects that meet at least one of the following criteria: they were requested by only one house of Congress; they were not specifically authorized; they were not competitively awarded and they were not requested by the president.

Some of the project organizers contacted by CNN disputed the claims that their work constituted pork, saying that their efforts provide useful services.

Alaska led the nation in pork spending, the group said, with $766 spent per person in the state ($480 million total). Hawaii and Mississippi are second and third on the list. All of these states are represented by congressional leaders.

Among the examples cited by the group:

-- $460 million for an amphibious assault ship being built in Mississippi, home of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.

-- $334.8 million added for defense projects in Hawaii, home of Sen. Daniel Inouye, a leading member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Some of that money would go to the Pearl Harbor Shipyard and for health care in the state.

-- $60.5 million added for projects in Alaska dealing with commerce and justice issues, including $18 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facilities there, $4.4 million for Stellar sea lion recovery and $2 million for the Alaska Native Justice Center. Alaska is home to Sen. Ted Stevens, chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

-- More than $27 million for flood and erosion control on several Mississippi rivers. That state is home to Sen. Thad Cochran, a leading member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

-- $5.9 million for wood utilization research in several states.

The group says the growing federal budget surplus has increased the momentum for this type of spending.

Bush unveils 'fiscally responsible' budget (February 22, 2001)

Citizens Against Government Waste

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