Dems Still Spend Less

Citizens Against Government Waste has released their annual Pork-Barrel Report detailing Congress' excessive and sometimes needless addiction to spending our tax money.

Top on the list this year for the states is the wonderfully conservative and fiscally responsible Alaska! Sarah Palin's state brought home over $221 million in pork dollars and not once did pork-buster Palin ever say 'thanks but no thanks.'

• First place porker in the Senate goes to Thad Cochran (R-MS).
• First place porker in the House goes to Neil Abercrombie (D-HI).

Overall, pork projects actually decreased this year but the price tag increased some 14% to $19.6 billion. Since taking over Congress in 2007, Democrats cut pork spending by more than half only to see the dollar amounts rise the last two years.

Over the last three budget years of Democratic control of Congress, roughly $50 billion of pork-barrel spending has passed onto the president ($30.4 billion signed by Bush, $19.6 billion signed by Obama). During the last three budget years of a Republican control on Congress, roughly $79.2 billion of pork-barrel spending passed through both chambers and onto a Republican president.

Needless to say, the last three years of Democratic control on Capitol Hill has resulted in a 37% reduction in pork spending, a $29.2 billion difference.