CAGW Names Marcy Kaptur July Porker of the Month

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Porker of the Month for gaming the House Democrats' prohibition on awarding earmarks to for-profit companies and wasting taxpayers' money. On March 10, 2010, House Democrats declared they would not approve requests for earmarks that are directed to for-profit entities.

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.

CAGW's Porker of the Month can also be viewed on video which is co-produced with reason.tv, the video website of Reason Magazine. CAGW's Porker of the Month is available on both CAGW's homepage and at reason.tv."Members of Congress should make rules that they intend to follow, instead of intentionally gaming the system they create," said CAGW President Tom Schatz. "It appears that from day one, Rep. Kaptur intended to trample all over the new ban on for-profit earmarks. This is the essence of pay-to-play political patronage, but unfortunately, Rep. Kaptur is not the only member engaging in this type of objectionable behavior. Taxpayers expected reform and transparency, but they are getting subterfuge and obfuscation. These activities demonstrate that members of Congress are not serious about reform," concluded Schatz.

For eviscerating earmark reform and wasting taxpayers' money, CAGW names Rep. Marcy Kaptur its July 2010 Porker of the Month.