April 2002: Pork in Black and White
Friday, April 26, 2002
By: Mark Carpenter

Wastewatcher April 2002

When researching the 2002 Congressional Pig Book, Citizens Against Government Waste had the difficult task of sorting through thousands of pages of the federal government's appropriations bills to sift out the 8,341 pork-barrel projects illicitly inserted.  Such an Olympian undertaking leaves little time for in-depth analysis of individual projects.
 
However, now that the book has been released, some projects clearly warrant closer looks.  One such project is the $273,000 that went for combating "Goth" culture in Blue Springs, Missouri. 

Since the Pig Book's release, a controversy over the grant to the Blue Springs Youth Outreach Unit has arisen.  During a radio interview on KMOX, St. Louis, the grant's procurer, U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-6th District), claimed the money would be spent studying why Goth adolescents are drawn to illicit drugs, especially Ecstasy. 

However, in a follow up interview, the crisis counselor at the outreach unit who submitted the grant proposal stated  the money would go toward informing the public that members of the Goth culture are just as intelligent and harmless as the rest of society.

This developing story has caused quite a stir both in the Goth community and on Capitol Hill.  Several Goths have contacted CAGW, outraged that public money is being spent by the federal government to "target" their culture. 

Meanwhile, the office of Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, called CAGW to insist it was not Bond who secured this project. 

But his spokesman reiterated Bond's longstanding support for unauthorized earmarks, stating, "Pork is a mighty fine diet for Missourians.  It is low in fat and high in jobs."

At that point, CAGW contacted Rep. Graves' office to suggest that if the Goth grant money did not appear headed towards its intended use, the congressman could use his power to rescind it and save taxpayers money.  A spokesman from his office replied that would never happen because they had "worked too hard" to obtain the money.

Such a classic case of pork-barrel spending raises serious questions.  Most importantly, why is taxpayer money allowed to be wasted so carelessly?  Who is accountable?  If there were questions of the project's legitimacy before it was funded, why was the appropriation still granted?  Why isn't this money now being rescinded? 

Before the 2002 Pig Book press conference, the $273,000 grant for combating Goth Culture was just another pork barrel project trying to avoid the glare of the public spotlight.  Now it is a poster child for pork and a classic example of the weaknesses inherent to the process of adding unauthorized earmarks.