Another Month, Another Congressional Porker
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW’s newest Porker of the Month is Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), She was awarded this dubious honor for “gaming the House Democrats’ prohibition on awarding earmarks to for-profit companies and wasting taxpayers’ money.”
On March 10, 2010, House Democrats said earmarks directed to for-profit entities would not be approved, but that apparently didn’t stop this member of Congress, as CAGW points out:
“A New York Times article published on July 4, 2010 reported that Rep. Kaptur was attempting to skirt the House Democrats’ ban on for-profit earmarks by securing earmarks for a new nonprofit that was very closely related to a for-profit company. According to the article, Rep Kaptur requested $10.4 million in pork-barrel earmark funding for the Great Lakes Research Center, a nonprofit organization that specializes in the same kind of work, and operates out of the same location as a for-profit company, Imaging Systems Technology. Rep. Kaptur helped Imaging Systems Technology secure $8.4 million in pork-barrel earmark funding in the past. The Times article also reported that Rep. Kaptur received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Imaging Systems Technology’s executives.”
You can see the Porker of the Month award on video, which is co-produced with reason.tv. If you wish to express your concern about Rep. Kaptur’s “gaming the House Democrats prohibition on awarding earmarks,” her phone number on Capitol Hill is (202) 225-4146.