NEW BUDGET STUFFED WITH PRIME PORK CONGRESS FUNDS PET PROJECTS.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - There may be a war on, but that hasn't kept Congress from putting on the feedbag for another feast of pork barrel spending.

Critics of pork, including Rep. Ed Royce, R-Fullerton, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., estimate that lawmakers, who are still working on the 2001-02 federal budget, have already earmarked $14 billion in taxpayer dollars for pet projects as the nation attempts to fund its war on terrorism.

The outlays - criticized as ``pork'' because they were added to the budget during final negotiations after being either rejected by House and Senate committees or never even debated in Congress - include a fish farm in West Virginia, massive subsidies for sheep and goat ranchers, and a program to keep beavers at bay in Louisiana.

``It just never stops,'' said Royce, whose own anti-pork agenda includes proposals to abolish the Departments of Energy and Education, downsize their bureaucracies and fold their operations into other federal agencies.

Defenders of earmarked allocations deny they constitute pork and argue that securing federal money for local projects should be a goal for all members of Congress.

As an example of prime pork, Royce cited a $300 million subsidy for sheep and goat ranchers. The program was introduced more than 50 years ago to guarantee an ample supply of wool and mohair for military uniforms.

``It sounds like a great idea,'' said Royce, ``until you consider that the military stopped using wool uniforms in 1951.''

McCain, who argued that frivolous outlays have no place amid declining government revenues and a need for new resources to fight terrorism, was especially outraged by an allocation that will require the Coast Guard to spend $4.65 million to test a high-speed cutter it has rejected as unnecessary.

McCain's pork list also features a number of Southern California projects, including a $740,000 outlay for the National Soccer Center recreation complex in Palmdale; $470,000 for the Old Town Monrovia redevelopment project; and $200,000 for the Hall of Paleontology at the San Bernardino County Museum.

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, a skillful procurer of federal funds who sought the paleontology money, doesn't buy the anti-pork argument. He has defined pork as ``a worthy project in someone else's district.''

Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, is another lawmaker who sees nothing wrong with bringing home some bacon from Washington, as long as it represents a fair share of the federal budget. He noted that California, the nation's richest and most populous state, receives 88 cents in federal spending for every tax dollar it sends to Washington.

But for Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Carson, who represents some of Los Angeles County's neediest communities, the budget process is tempered by new priorities.

While she still hopes to secure funding for local education and business development projects during next year's session, Millender-McDonald said she has recently had to put all of her energy into such new needs as increased port and airline security.

``Sept. 11 was a wake-up call,'' she said. ``If you come to this House, you'd better be serious because we're dealing with some serious business.''

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Woodland Hills - who, in the normal appropriations process, has pushed for millions of dollars for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area - credited President George W. Bush with what he termed the year's biggest budget blunder: cutting a $40 million program to help Russia decommission its nuclear missiles while seeking $7.9 billion for missile defense.

While the taxpayer bill for the war on terrorism keeps spiraling, Sherman has continued to advocate year-round use of daylight-saving time as a no-cost plan to reduce energy use. He first proposed the program last spring as an antidote to California's electricity crisis.

``We're going to face more energy problems in the years to come, and this war may increase problems with supply and demand,'' said Sherman, who noted that daylight-saving time was successfully used to cut energy use during World Wars I and II.

The squeakiest pork procurers in Congress are party leaders and key members of the House and Senate appropriations committees. For example, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate appropriations panel, has earmarked millions for his home state.

West Virginia's bonanza is a sore point with Royce, who argues that it cuts into California's fair share of dollars for transportation and other projects.

``Most federal transportation money comes from federal fuel taxes that are collected by the states and are sent to Washington,'' said Royce. ``That money should stay in California and be used on our priorities instead of being redirected into pork.''

Alaska is also reaping a lion's share of pork thanks to Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, ranking Republican on the appropriations panel. His numerous earmarks include $1 million to study dust abatement in Kotzebue, a tiny community above the Arctic Circle and on the barren and windy coast of the Bering Sea.

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Here are some examples of spending in the 2001-02 federal budget:

--$300 million in farm subsidies to maintain a strategic reserve of wool and mohair.

--$8 million to the National Highway Traffic Administration to develop public service ads promoting seat-belt use. An additional $2 million is requested to determine whether the ads are effective.

--$4.65 million to test a new high-speed cutter the Coast Guard does not want.

--$3 million in highway funds for the Odyssey Marine Project, a museum in Seattle.

--$2.2 million for the Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture in Leetown, W.Va., population 294.

--$1 million for a Cultural Awareness Center in De Queen, Ark., population 4,872.

--$1 million to study dust abatement in Kotzebue, Alaska.

--$1 million for the American Rivers Museum in Dubuque, Iowa.

--$200,000 to study water ditches in Hawaii.

--$125,000 for beaver control in Louisiana.

SOURCE: Library of Congress; Sen. John McCain

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