David Minge: “I have worked on a bipartisan basis over the last 4 years with my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce)…”

“I have worked on a bipartisan basis over the last 4 years with my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) in what is called the Porkbuster Caucus. We have tried to focus on waste, fraud, and abuse, especially on pork barrel projects that have been found in appropriations bills and other bills. It is fortunate, I think, that several of the Committee on Appropriations subcommittees have made a real attempt to eliminate earmarked projects and pork barrel projects, especially the Subcommittee on Transportation, but that does not mean that we have come to the millennium. We still have these pork barrel projects. We still have earmarks that cannot be justified. Unfortunately, in the bill that was passed today we had some of those projects. No lesser legislative leader than the majority leader in the Senate has projects that he has brought home to his State of Mississippi which cost this country hundreds of millions of dollars, and unfortunately, also cost money from the programs that are affected by the cuts that were in the legislation today.”