Of the 10 U.S. senators who commanded the most pork barrel spending in earmarks for next fiscal year, eight are Republicans, most of whom sit on powerful Appropriations Committee
OpenTheBooks.com auditors analyzed the full list of over $5.4 billion worth of earmarks approved for 2024 federal spending bills on the Senate side of the Capitol, under Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
Only one Democrat, West Virginia’s Sen. Joe Manchin, and one Independent, Maine’s Angus King, made the ignominious top ten. Added together with $8.2 billion in House earmarks, it’s a $13 billion+ fleecing of the federal taxpayer.
The senator who managed to capture the most pork barrel spending was Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who earmarked $556 million. The total Senate haul for Maine, when counting individual earmarks and those co-authored with King, comes to $568 million.
The average senator is taking home $120 million in earmarks, less than a quarter of Collins and King’s tally. Yet Maine is the 42nd largest state by population, with under 1.4 million people — about the same population as San Diego.
In the House of Representatives, similarly, Republicans lead the $8.2 billion in earmarks as the top 63 spenders. The first Democrats makes the list in 64th place for total federal tax dollars captured.
Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, both Democrats, also secured another almost $27 million through 30 earmarks for Maine, paying for school and youth programming, public safety, water treatment, housing projects, road and infrastructure improvements, among other things. "When Republicans supported the return of earmarks in late 2022, it was the equivalent of providing open bar to alcoholics,” OpenTheBooks.com Founder & CEO Adam Andrzejewski said. “Both parties are addicted to spending taxpayer money.”
"The national debt is our #1 national security threat and every dime of earmark, pork barrel spending is borrowed. That's immoral."
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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