As Congress prepared to slink into their smoke-filled backrooms to craft the next federal budget, President Biden made it clear that his old-timey ways meant that the era of wasteful earmarks and pork-barrel spending was back. And despite Democrats and some Republicans packing on millions of dollars of taxpayer money in spending for their pet projects in their home districts, the flagship morning and evening newscasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC were uninterested in the smell of cooking pork.
Instead of reporting on the wasteful pork spending of Congress, all of the networks covered the descent of a Chinese rocket that was falling to Earth. ABC’s World News Tonight also reported on the coming emergence of a brood of cicadas. And NBC Nightly News talked about surprise fees for summer vacation. A prime example of their lack of allegiance to their audiences.
As usual, Fox News Channel was on the case Thursday. “Earmarks are back in Congress and that means politicians are competing for your tax dollars to spend in their districts on all kinds of projects,” Special Report anchor Bret Baier announced at the top of the segment.
Following a soundbite of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) saying she’s “very proud” of what they had going on, correspondent Hillary Vaughn noted the weak oversight measures that were in place.
“House Democrats want to win over taxpayers that have been turned off by fatty pork-barrel spending in budget bills of the past. Lawmakers have to post their projects to their website and the Government Accountability Office is in charge of oversight,” she said.
From there, Vaughn read off a laundry list of ridiculous requests from Democrats accompanied by a picture of the requester, their names, and states, including hundreds of thousands of dollars for toilets:
Some of the projects requested though are already raising eyebrows. Almost half a million dollars for toilets on a hiking trail requested in Texas and a yoga program in New Jersey. More than $6 million for a Gandhi museum. 2 million to remodel planned parenthood facilities. Money for a gender discrimination and cultural bias program in New York. And an equity and inclusion program at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
“It’s not just Democrats though that are cashing in, Republicans are, too. A million dollars for a trolley in New York and 18 million wanted for a fire station in Alaska,” she added.
Vaughn recalled that the “rules” said “lawmakers can’t benefit financially,” but deduced “that doesn’t mean they can’t try to benefit politically.” As evidence, she cited that nearly all of the Democrats in seats Republicans thought were vulnerable in 2022 had submitted pork-barrel spending requests, while “16 Republicans from the DCCC’s list are trying to bring some of that bacon home.”
“In 2010, under president Obama earmarks were out. Today, under President Biden they’re back,” she reminded viewers. “Today, under President Biden they’re back.”
In her conclusion, Vaughn cautioned that “Earmarks making a comeback could be a win for Democratic districts if Republicans that have protested them in the past do not get on board and all Democratic projects get approved.”
This refusal to cover the return of pork-barrel spending was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Fisher Investments on ABC, Liberty Mutual on CBS, and Progressive on NBC. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcript is below, click “expand” to read:
Fox News Channel’s Special Report
May 6, 2021
6:25:50 p.m. EasternBRET BAIER: Earmarks are back in Congress and that means politicians are competing for your tax dollars to spend in their districts on all kinds of projects. Fox Business correspondent Hillary Vaughn takes a look tonight from Capitol Hill.
[Cuts to video]
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We can’t afford what are called earmarks.
HILLARY VAUGHN: In 2010, under president Obama earmarks were out. Today, under President Biden they’re back.
SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): You have to show what your project is. It’s not just well slip it in. [Transition] I’m very proud of it.
VAUGHN: House Democrats want to win over taxpayers that have been turned off by fatty pork-barrel spending in budget bills of the past. Lawmakers have to post their projects to their website and the Government Accountability Office is in charge of oversight.
CHRIS STEWART (R-UT, House Budget Committee): Wasteful spend something wasteful spending whether it’s coming from a Republican or from a Democrat.
VAUGHN: Some of the projects requested though are already raising eyebrows. Almost half a million dollars for toilets on a hiking trail requested in Texas and a yoga program in New Jersey. More than $6 million for a Gandhi museum. 2 million to remodel planned parenthood facilities. Money for a gender discrimination and cultural bias program in New York. And an equity and inclusion program at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
It’s not just Democrats though that are cashing in, Republicans are, too. A million dollars for a trolley in New York and 18 million wanted for a fire station in Alaska.
KEVIN BRADY (R-TX, House Ways & Means Committee): Let’s not paint them all with the same brush. I think there are differences.
VAUGHN: There are rules on what projects get approved. Lawmakers can’t benefit financially. But that doesn’t mean they can’t try to benefit politically. All of the House Democrats but one on the NRCC midterm’s target list filed requests and 16 Republicans from the DCCC’s list are trying to bring some of that bacon home.
(…)
[Cuts back to live]
VAUGHN: Earmarks making a comeback could be a win for Democratic districts if Republicans that have protested them in the past do not get on board and all Democratic projects get approved. But, the pork is proving to be tempting for at least a small sliver of Senate Republicans, six GOP senators told Politico they are planning to submit earmarks of their own and 10 other Republican senators say they’re still chewing it over. Bret
BAIER: We’ll keep track of it. Hillary, thank you.
I can smell the pork sizzling clear out here in Colorado!
Tom – here too – problem is that they just ain’t ‘sizzling’ it – they have the heat turned up so high that they are burning it, The flip side is that the pork is being doled out VERY selectively – rewards to cronies and paybacks/bribes. Never mind all of the social engineering projects that they are still trying to ram down our throats. They have been doing that since they ‘promised’ Reagan they would secure our borders (in exchange for amnesty for some 3.5 million illegals already in the Republic) AND pay back the money they had previously ‘borrowed’ from the social security trust fund. Some folks still can’t figure out why that system is going broke.
I agree with you. Americans need to put on their big boy & big Girl panties and fight this crap until we and with God’s help win this war!!!
That’s not pork my friend, that is the stench of good old liberal / progressive body odor from all the democRAT communists that have migrated to a once beautiful, wonderful state. Where ever they go they bring that awful stink with them. Haven’t visited Colorado since the Californica contingent of liberals arrived there originally to destroy Vail. Sad, sad situation.
In NC we make great pork BBQ!!!!
The Constitutionalist of our once-great Republic (5 months ago) are not going to stand for the this fatty spending. We are not going to finance the pandering to big tech & corporations to feather their nest for the purpose of pushing communism!
Communism & capitalism cannot successfully co-exist in the same place. China finally had to adopt a weak form of capitalism to keep the masses from revolting but the restrictive nature of communism still keeps the Chinese masses captive. Will they ever break free? Don’t know. The people definitely outnumber the military but it would still take many courageous Chinese civilians willing to shed their blood to accomplish it. Sort of like the men and women of the Allied Forces that took on Germany and Japan in the 1940’s when China was still a some what free country. But remember only about 2% of the Chinese population are actually members of the CCP. What are the other 98% thinking about?
There should just be a ban on congress adding pork projects to the budget. I know this will never happen as long as democrats are in charge. This is stealing money from tax payers. Theft is theft. Maybe if some of these big spenders were sent to jail for theft of government funds, things would change,
Actually it didn’t happen under the Republicans either. The Bush family dynasty, not being at all real conservatives, spent like drunken sailors. They talked about eliminating the “pork” but never delivered. Spending & appropriation needs to be taken out of the hands of Congress and put into the hands of the taxpayers not the people who pretend to represent the taxpayers. When was the last time, or better yet the first time, your House representative came and asked you for your input on spending? And even if they did ask it would mean nothing to them. The political class as it exists today should NEVER have been allowed to create itself. This is what Franklin meant when he stated “Congress should never include a single barrister, they should be banned from all elected positions”.
Anybody know what time zone in the U.S. is five hours ahead of the other? If I know the time at my location and post a comment the time listed on the post is 5 hours ahead of the time at my location. So where is this site I posted to located? Surely not in the U.S.
The soap box failed, the ballot box failed, now there is only one more box for patriotic, LEGAL Americans to use to make their voices heard by the congress-critters.