New Hampshire Ranks 11th in Per Capita Pork, Up from 13th Last Year
WASHINGTON, April 09–New Hampshire’s fiscally conservative lawmakers weren’t so frugal last year when it came to pork barrel spending, according to a report released by a private watchdog group Tuesday.
Lawmakers, however, said they were simply effective in convincing others of the importance of Granite State projects when they brought home close to $100 million in contested appropriations for the current fiscal year.
While constituents appreciate federal funds garnered by members, some spending hawks criticize lawmakers when they bring home disproportionate spending, familiarly called pork-barrel spending.
The 2002 Congressional “Pig Book,” released by the non-profit Washington-based Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), reveals that New Hampshire ranks 11th among the states in per capita pork this year, up from 13th last year. New Hampshire received 65 appropriations totaling $99,373,280 – $78.29 per person – in specific earmarks from the federal government.
Rep. Charles Bass (R-NH) balked at the suggestion that New Hampshire’s ranking worsened from last year. “It’s better,” he said. “These projects are better than those for any other states. The delegation worked hard.” The first district congressman, who sits on the House Budget Committee, added that “the Appropriations Committee makes decisions between competing options. The projects can not fly on their own.”
The three largest New Hampshire appropriations mentioned by the group for 2002 were $7.5 million for the Manchester Airport, $6 million for the Dartmouth Thayer School of Engineering and $5.84 million for air traffic control facilities at the airport.
CAGW defines pork barrel spending as money that meets at least one of these criteria: it was requested by only one chamber of Congress, was not specifically authorized, was not competitively awarded, was not requested by the president, greatly exceeds the president’s budget request or the previous year’s spending level, was not the subject of congressional hearings and serves only a local or special interest.
“I think that simply because a member of Congress makes a request for a local priority doesn’t necessarily mean the funding isn’t going to be well used or that it’s not well spent,” said Rep. John Sununu (R-NH), a member of the House Appropriations Committee and vice chairman of the Budget Committee. “I think every project has to stand on its own merits.”
One such project is the $3.6 million that Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) helped appropriate for the International Paper Co. land in the North Country, which the Pig Book defined as pork.
“This is one of the most important conservation initiatives, not just in New Hampshire but in the entire Northeast,” said Sununu, who sat on a steering committee for the land deal project along with the other members of the New Hampshire delegation. “I think it’s the exact kind of conservation program that the Forest Legacy Program was designed for.”
The Agriculture Department’s Forest Legacy Program gives grants to states for private land conservation.
Bass added that federal money pays for public land in other parts of the country. “We spend vast amounts of money in stewardship of western resources,” he said. “This is tiny. This is the United States. For me to be unilaterally opposed to anything other than what New Hampshire cares about would be somewhat myopic.”
Also in the Pig Book was $3.5 million that Manchester received for a combined sewer overflow project, which Sununu pointed out was money to fulfill a government mandate.
“That was a request I made for the city of Manchester to help comply with federal standards for cleaning up the wastewater that flows into the Merrimack River,” he said. “Cleaning up the river is a critical initiative for Manchester and the state of New Hampshire. I think the federal government should have a direct appropriation role.”
Of the 65 New Hampshire appropriations in the Pig Book, 21 – more than a third of all the pork spending for the state were labeled as commerce appropriations. Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), is the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary.
Another 18 appropriations were labeled VA / HUD. Sununu sits on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies.
Another popular earmark – transportation – appeared 11 times on the list of 65. Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) is the senior Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which introduced some of the legislation.
The smallest of the 65 appropriations, under the VA / HUD label, was $40,000 for “My Friends Place,” an emergency shelter in Dover.
New Hampshire’s No. 13 ranking last year was based on $64,520,000 in appropriations, or $52.21 per person.
New Hampshire’s senators both received awards for their fiscal thrift in recent months.
Sen. Smith received the National Taxpayers Union “Taxpayers’ Friend Award” earlier this month for voting to reduce and control the tax burden on the American people. He ranked among the top five in the Senate.
Sen. Gregg was awarded the “Hero of the Taxpayer Award” in February by Americans for Tax Reform for votes during the first session of the current Congress “defending against tax increases and working to reform the U.S. tax code,” according to a news release.
Gregg, in a statement, said he would “continue to support and fund worthwhile projects in New Hampshire from my position on the Appropriations Committee here in the U.S. Senate.” He added: “To rephrase the words of Daniel Webster, ‘It is, sir, as I have said, a small state. And yet there are those of us who love it!’”
Published in The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire
