David Minge: “Mr. Chairman, I have an important announcement for the American people. Pork-barrel politics is alive and well in…”

“Mr. Chairman, I have an important announcement for the American people. Pork-barrel politics is alive and well in Washington. My colleagues may have thought that the change which took place last November would bring an end to politics as usual. But that is not the case when it comes to bringing home the pork. True, we are making significant efforts to cut overall spending to balance the budget--and I support those efforts. But despite the deep spending cuts, members of the Appropriations Committee have managed to slip wasteful, unauthorized and unrequested projects into this spending bill for the benefit of local or special interests back home. As a cochair of the Porkbusters Coalition, I rise today in strong support of the Klug amendment to cut the $20 million in this bill which is earmarked for researching an impractical nuclear technology referred to as the gas turbine-modular helium reactor. The GT-MHR is a prime example of what the Federal Government ought not to be funding. This $20 million appropriation was not requested by the President in his budget and has not been authorized by the Science Committee. In fact, as a member of the Science Committee, I participated in a bipartisan vote to eliminate the GT-MHR. This wasteful boondoggle was also opposed by the Reagan and Bush administrations.”