This week, our friends at Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) unveiled the 2019 version of their annual “Pig Book.” This outstanding publication is a great resource for taxpayers, media, and members of Congress interested in preventing waste and abuse of taxpayers’ dollars. As CAGW notes, “for the second year in a row, members of Congress have set records for the cost and number of earmarks during the supposed earmark moratorium.” Despite earmarks once again being on the rise, taxpayers should be thankful that CAGW is helping to keep a close eye on Congress’s loose spending habits.
To the dismay of taxpayers, the Pig Book finds there were a total of 282 earmarks in FY19, an increase of 21.6 percent from the 232 in FY18. Perhaps the most egregious earmark deals with the long-plagued F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, funding for which totals $1.8 billion, representing 12 percent of all earmarks in FY19. To that end, defense earmarks represent nearly two-thirds of all earmarks in FY19. Congress should be working to fight these instances of waste, not indiscriminately throwing even more money at the military as Congress is proposing to do right now.
CAGW should be commended for their dedication to defending the interests of taxpayers and we are happy to work with them on a host of issues to reduce wasteful spending and streamline government. To view their full report, click here