ThinkProgress.org
"Chief Porker" Don Young Refuses To Share Bacon With Katrina Victims
Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is a self-proclaimed "little oinker" and aspires to be the "chief porker." Your tax dollars make his dream possible. Thanks to you, Alaskans receive $6.60 back for every $1 they pay in at-the-pump gas taxes.
Young is chairman of Congress’s Transportation and Infrastructure Commitee and has ensured that the six-year $295 billion transportation bill is "stuffed like a turkey" with $721 million in projects for Alaska. Projects include:
$223 million for a bridge larger than the Brooklyn Bridge and almost as long as the Golden Gate, to connect a town with 8,900 people to a town with 50 people.
$200 million for another "bridge to nowhere," which will connect Anchorage to a town with one tenant and a handful of homes.
Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has raised the idea of "charitable pork" — lawmakers giving up pet projects to help Hurricane Katrina victims — and Montana is considering giving up the $4 million it received in a federal bill for a downtown parking garage.
Young’s response to his state giving up some money?
"They can kiss my ear!…That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard….I raised enough money to give back to them voluntarily and that’s it!"
So much for unity and sacrifice.