Citizens Against Government Waste Names Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz October 2020 Porker of the Month

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) our October 2020 Porker of the Month for trying to exhume scary, wasteful, and horrendous earmarks.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz recently committed to bringing back earmarks, saying it needs to be done “the right way.” There is absolutely no right way to bring back earmarks. Congress has squandered a horrifying $375.7 billion on earmarks since 1991, wasting $15.9 billion in fiscal year 2020 alone. The current national debt of $27 trillion is going to grow at a record pace over the next decade, but Rep. Wasserman Schultz doesn’t see the frightful problem with reinstating wasteful pork projects. She incorrectly claims that the GOP’s ban on earmarks was and remains a “campaign messaging stunt,” even though members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have expressed opposition to their return.

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “At this scary time for the financial future of the country, Rep. Wasserman Schultz fails to see the hideous hazards of earmarks. Bringing back one of the most corrupt, costly, and inequitable practices in history is wickedly cruel to taxpayers who are dealing with mounting personal debt and struggling during the pandemic. Members of Congress need to run far, far away from members like Rep. Wasserman Schultz who want to resurrect self-serving, grotesque pork-barrel spending. For trying to resuscitate appalling and loathsome earmarks, Rep. Wasserman Schultz is an easy choice for Porker of the Month.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.