Federal watchdogs, like the Citizens Against Government Waste, have estimated that Congress squandered a robust $18.5 billion coming from over 6,000 unnecessary projects (Anderson 34). This information leads to an array of mind-boggling questions like how and why these bills are being passed by legislation. Senator Robert Byrd, a ranking member of pork barrels anonymous, explained his excessive spending by saying, "I know who sends me here. I know West Virginia, and what is one man's pork is another man's job." Reigning pork-barrel king, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairmen Ted Stevens, insisted that "the needs of his home state {Alaska} are immense and he is proud to have steered millions to the far Northwest" (Anderson 33-4). In essence, these pork tycoons are conducting business as usual on Capitol Hill, which means wasting much needed capital gains to buy votes in their respective regions (Carney 47-8). Maybe this explains the $400,000 that Senator Stevens secured for a parking lot in the great city of Talkeetna, Alaska (population 300) and an extra $176,000 for the Alaska Reindeer Herders Association (Thomas 51-2). Basically, although representatives think that they are helping their respective regions by spending excessive dollar amounts, the ultimate loser is every American taxpayer, to the tune of 18.5 billion dollars in 2001 alone. .
At a time when this great country is fighting a war against terrorism among other things, the average American would most likely support a slight hike in taxes and Government expenditures. Consequently, President Bush continues to enjoy an approval rating close to 90 percent, despite admitting to an upcoming possible deficit in government expenditures. However, most conservatives continue to worry that the Government is once again getting too big. These Republicans worry about the 9/11 effect, in which a public outcry for increased spending will lead to a huge national deficit.
