CAGW Names Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid Porkers of the Month.

WASHINGTON -- Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) its August Porkers of the Month for leading a do-nothing Congress into a five week vacation.

Congress left for its traditional August recess after accomplishing nothing. Of the 106 bills enacted since January, 104, or 98 percent were to name government buildings or lands, extend or make technical corrections to existing laws, or passed either by unanimous consent or with less than 10 dissenting votes. The accomplishments included "Frank Sinatra Day," "National Plumbing Industry Week," and "National Day of the Cowboy."

The deadline for passing the 12 annual appropriations bills has been deliberately ignored. Only one of the bills has passed the House, and only four others have been approved by the House Appropriations Committee. In the Senate, nine have been approved by the Appropriations Committee but none have reached the floor. There are two reasons for this failure to act. First, the Speaker and Majority Leader appear to be waiting for the presidential election to decide what to do with these bills, hoping that the winner in November would favor higher spending and more earmarks.

Second, the moratorium on offshore drilling expires on September 30, and it is usually renewed through the appropriations process. However, both Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid are opposed to lifting the moratorium. Rather than allowing a vote, they shut down Congress. House Republicans took to the darkened House floor, demanding that Congress go back into session and hold an up-or-down vote to lift the drilling ban.

The Speaker's first response was to continue her taxpayer-financed vacation to promote her new book. She has since indicated some willingness to consider a vote, but only tied to a larger (and costly) energy package. Majority Leader Reid's response has been to threaten to shut down the government by refusing to allow any appropriations bills to reach the Senate floor, including a continuing resolution that would allow agencies to operate at the fiscal year 2008 spending levels.

For leaving town after Congress has spent nearly all of its time on frivolous legislation, failing to address critical issues, and threatening a government shutdown, CAGW names Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid its August 2008 Porkers of the Month.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.