Dems determined to add pages to 'Pig Book'

House Democrats reportedly plan to bring back earmarks, a practice known for wasteful spending of tax dollars. 

Democrats view earmarks as an opportunity for lawmakers to provide projects in their home districts and they are unhappy that the Republican policy in 2011, which curtailed the practice, has given the executive branch more say over spending.

"Having the Trump administration decide what is going to happen in various congressional districts is not necessarily the right approach," Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California) complained to The Washington Examiner.

Curtis Kalin of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) says Democrats are following through on a campaign promise to bring back earmarks, which he describes as a "huge affront" to taxpayers.

"What you tend to have here," he says, "is billions upon billions of tax dollars spent on things that are blatantly wasteful or self-dealing, or just straight-up absurd in some cases."

Citizens Against Government Waste publishes an annual report on pork-barrel projects entitled the Congressional Pig Book.

That is not to say Republicans, despite touting "small government" and a balanced budget, don't do their own share of wasteful spending.

"Unfortunately, no matter who won the elections in November, there may have been a chance that both sides would have tried to bring back earmarks," Kalin remarks.