CAGW Announces 2012 Porker of the Year Nominees

  CAGW Announces 2012 Porker of the Year Nominees

Business Wire

WASHINGTON -- February 20, 2013

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today announced the nominees for its
2012 Porker of the Year. People may cast their ballots for the candidate they
think was the most reprehensible Porker in 2012 in an online poll at
www.cagw.org. The six finalists were chosen by CAGW staff from among 12 worthy
Porkers of the Month for 2012. The voting deadline is March 6 and the results
will be announced March 7. The candidates are:

  * Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), for submitting amendment #1812 to S. 1813,
    the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act, which would have
    extended federal subsidies for green energy, including alternative fueling
    stations, biofuels, refined coal, energy-efficient appliances, and wind
    power.
  * Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), for recommending that lawmakers bring back
    earmarks. Rep. Rogers stated that he “was mad because [members] were
    talking about how we can’t get 218 votes,” adding that “There was a lot of
    applause when I made my comments.” Members of the anti-earmark crowd have
    never been under the impression that earmarks were unpopular among
    senators and representatives. To the contrary, it has long been clear that
    earmarks must be banned in order to protect Congress from its own
    porkiness.
  * New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for plumbing the depths of
    government overreach with his ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces
    at restaurants, food carts, movie theaters.
  * House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Ranking
    Member Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), for sponsoring the Federal Agriculture
    Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) bill, a massive waste of taxpayer
    dollars at a time of record profits for farmers. Reps. Lucas and
    Peterson’s bill would have maintained the command-and-control pricing
    systems for many commodities that have been in place for decades, and fell
    far short of the $180 billion in savings for the farm bill included in the
    House-passed budget resolution.
  * Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D), for hinting at a possible federal bailout
    of Illinois’ pension programs, which are among the least funded in
    America. Gov. Quinn’s fiscal year 2012 budget referenced his state’s
    pension problem, stating that, “while the pension reform of 2010 improved
    the situation by decreasing future liabilities … significant long term
    improvements will come only from additional pension reforms, refinancing
    the liability and seeking a federal guarantee of the debt [emphasis
    added].”
  * Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), for his continued pressure on
    acting Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Edward DeMarco to pursue
    principal write down on mortgages owned by the two housing
    government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Director
    DeMarco has steadfastly refused to move toward principal forgiveness,
    citing his obligation to protect taxpayers and minimize additional losses
    for Fannie and Freddie, which are currently under the longest federal
    conservatorship in American history at a cost to taxpayers of $183
    billion.

CAGW is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to
eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of
the Month and Porker of the Year are dubious honors given to lawmakers,
government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant
disregard for the interests of taxpayers.

Contact:

CAGW
Leslie K. Paige,  202-467-5334
Luke Gelber, 202-467-5318