Hat Tip to the Mrs. for showing this to me before I read it on AP.

I’ve put a link in my Politics blogroll to the new Pig Book published by Citizens Against Government Waste. I had been reading their blog until it got filled with comment spam. It’s nice to know they’re still working. They count $29 billion in pork this year.

The biggest porker is the Department of Defense, which is rather sad given their recent tales about armor supply:

$591,017,000 added in conference for eight additional C-130J aircraft. A February 2005 Associated Press article noted, “A 2004 report from the office of the inspector general of the Department of Defense rated the J model unsatisfactory and cited deficiencies in, among other things, its defensive systems.”

Ohio doesn’t seem to be as big a recipient as some other states, but here’s some of our share:

$179,000 added by the House for hydroponic tomato production research in the districts of House appropriator Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) and House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee member Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). According to USDA testimony, “The anticipated completion date for this research was fiscal year 2002; the original objectives were met. The anticipated completion date for the new objectives for this project initiated in 2003 is fiscal 2005. No additional or related objectives have been identified.” Since 1998, $1.2 million has been appropriated for this research.

$4,000,000 added by the House for the Toledo Shipyard Improvement Plan in the district of House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee member Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio). According to The Toledo Blade, the shipyard was scheduled to close on October 31, 2005. The paper noted, “Despite millions of dollars in pledged public aid for modernizations and upgrades, the Toledo Shipyard’s operator has indicated that it will pull anchor by the end of October, costing the area about 70 jobs.” Business at the shipyard has been waning over the last 20 years.

$17,500,000 for projects in the district of House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman David Hobson (R-Ohio), including: $13,000,000 for Ohio environmental infrastructure; $3,000,000 for the NextEdge Technical Park in Springfield; $1,500,000 for the Springfield Equestrian Center Energy Efficiency Project; and $1,000,000 for the Ohio State University 4-H Green Building Project. Representative Hobson told CQ Today that lawmakers’ resistance to the energy budget cuts proposed by the Bush administration “may be a little bit of a problem. I totally agree with all the goals. I just have to make sure we spend the money in the right places and that we don’t damage good programs that are already out there.”

$91,919,513 for projects added in the state of Senate TTHUD Appropriations Subcommittee member Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and the districts of House TTHUD Appropriations Subcommittee member Ralph Regula (R-Ohio) and House appropriator Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), including: $1,000,000 for the city of Springfield for expansion of the Applied Research Technology Park; $750,000 for Canton for construction of the community youth/recreation activity center; $400,000 Navarre for construction of a library for the Towpath Trail YMCA Community Center; $300,000 for Ashland Industrial Park Road construction; $250,000 for Greene for the purchase of Southgate Farm; $200,000 for St. Mary’s for renovations to the historic Glass Block; $100,000 for Cincinnati for the renovation of the Covedale Center for Performing Arts; $100,000 for Toledo for the construction of ice-skating rinks in city parks; and $75,000 for Lancaster for the renovation of a building for the glass-blowing museum.