Citizens Against Government Waste Names Senator Richard Shelby April 2022 Porker of the Month

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) our April 2022 Porker of the Month for claiming he has secured $683 million in pork-barrel earmarks.

Since 2010, when the earmark moratorium was established, Sen. Shelby has been one of the most vocal supporters of their return. He was granted his wish when Congress approved almost 5,000 earmarks in the $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2022 omnibus appropriations bill. He wasted no time securing $683 million in pork-barrel earmarks in his home state of Alabama, which accounts for 6 percent of estimated total earmarks in the omnibus bill, the most of any member of Congress. To make matters worse, Sen. Shelby is basking in pork-barrel earmark glory, claiming “I’m very proud of them.” Sen. Shelby is retiring at the end of this term and seems to have no problem burdening American taxpayers, who are already facing a $30 trillion national debt, with expensive and wasteful earmarks. Some of his eye-popping requests include $200 million for the Port of Mobile and $100 million for Mobile’s airport.

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Earmarks are corrupt, costly, and inequitable. Taxpayers should be horrified by Sen. Shelby’s willingness to purloin so much pork. It is despicable that he has requested the most earmarks of any member of Congress on his way out of the door. Earmarks are not a path to unity; they are a road to fiscal ruin for taxpayers. Members of Congress cannot help themselves when it comes to wasting taxpayer dollars and it provides only mild relief that Sen. Shelby will be retiring soon and stop requesting pet projects for his state. For saddling taxpayers with $683 million in pork-barrel earmarks, Sen. Shelby was an easy choice for CAGW’s April 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 taxpayers.