Rep. Oberstar labeled 'Porker of the Month':
WASHINGTON--A citizens watchdog committee has named U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., "Porker of the Month" for August because of his proposal for a 5-cent gas tax increase to raise $25 billion within three years for a new bridge trust fund.
Oberstar's proposal comes in the wake of the I-35W bridge collapse over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis that killed 13.
In a news release, The Citizens Against Government Waste alluded back to the 2005 transportation bill and said that Oberstar was part of the "earmark melee" where "nearly 6,500 pork barrel projects worth more than $24 billion" were added to the final bill. Meanwhile, a push to increase funds from $2 billion to $3 billion for bridge reconstruction was considered but not approved.
An Oberstar aide fired back at the group.
"What they are arguing against is a congressman being responsive to projects all brought to him by constituents to help provide jobs and economic development. The congressman won't apologize for helping his district, and that's the bottom line," said John Schadl, Oberstar communications director, in a telephone interview from Washington last week.
Bringing home the bacon has been Oberstar's bottom line since he arrived in Washington over thirty years ago.
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