DOUBLE PORKER OF THE MONTH GOES TO U.S. REP. JIM MORAN DEMOCRAT, AND FCC CHAIRMAN KEVIN MARTIN

Double Porker of the Month: Rep. Jim Moran

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) November Porker of the Month for remarks he made during a speech on October 27, 2008 in which he praised the idea of wealth redistribution and maligned the idea that people who create wealth should be entitled to keep it. Rep. Moran, who entered politics soon after graduate school, stated in part, “Now, in the last seven years, we have had the highest corporate profit ever in American history, highest corporate profit. We’ve had the highest productivity. The American worker has produced more per person than at any time. But it hasn’t been shared and that’s the problem. Because we have been guided by a Republican administration who believes in this simplistic notion that people who have wealth are entitled to keep it and they have an antipathy towards the means of redistributing wealth.” CAGW President Tom Schatz responded, “Rep. Moran’s punitive conclusion about creating wealth reflects the prevailing ethos of the current Congress. His remarks offer a window into the soul of the congressional leadership and offer a bare-knuckled preview of the kind of confiscatory policies taxpayers can expect now that there are even fewer fiscal conservatives on Capitol Hill." Read more about the Porker of the Month.

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Double Porker of the Month: FCC Chairman Kevin Martin

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin Porker of the Month for using FCC funds to sponsor a NASCAR driver from his home state. The FCC will pay $355,000 to sponsor David Gilliland’s number 38 car, owned by Yates Racing, for three races, in order to raise awareness about the upcoming switch to digital television in February. Even though the commission has inundated networks with paid announcements for months, Martin considered it necessary to use additional taxpayer dollars to pay for the car and driver to bear slogans such as “Is Your TV Ready for Digital?” Not only does this expenditure show poor judgment, Martin moved forward without consulting all of the FCC commissioners. The underlying motivation for the contract has also raised eyebrows. The next President is generally expected to replace Martin as FCC Chairman, after which he may attempt to launch a political career in his home state of North Carolina, where Gilliland is based. For using taxpayer funds on an unnecessary project, diverting focus from more important telecommunications concerns, recklessly spending without consulting his peers, and attempting to use his influence to shore up his own political prospects, CAGW names FCC Chairman Kevin Martin the October 2008 Porker of the Month. Read more about the Porker of the Month.