Economy Alarm: More Than 760,000 Pounds of Pork

July 20, 2009

More Than 760,000 Pounds of Pork
Democrats Spend $1.91 Million to Buy Ham, Cheese and Dairy products

Pelosi Pledged There would be No Pork in the Stimulus Bill:

CNN’S WOLF BLITZER: Can you assure the American people that there will be no pork barrel spending, none of these earmarks, these bridges to nowhere, these phony deals that are going on – that legislators won’t be able to bury stuff for their districts – the stuff that’s been so highly publicized?

PELOSI [raising right hand]: I can pledge to you that no earmark – or any of that, any description you want to make of it – will be in the bill that passes the house.

Credibility Crash: Democrats Spent $1.91 Million of Taxpayer Money on 760,000 Pounds of Pork:

According to a recent press release from the Department of Agriculture, Through the Recovery Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made $100 million available to the states for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which acquires food that is distributed to local organizations that assist the needy – including food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens.

The Recovery Act funds referenced in press reports allowed states to purchase ham, cheese and dairy products for these food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries that provide assistance to people who otherwise do not have access to food. This program will help reduce hunger of those hardest hit by the current economic recession.

The references to “2 pound frozen ham sliced” are to the sizes of the packaging. Press reports suggesting that the Recovery Act spent $1.191 million to buy “2 pounds of ham” are wrong. In fact, the contract in question purchased 760,000 pounds of ham for $1.191 million, at a cost of approximately $1.50 per pound. In terms of the dairy purchase referenced, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) purchased 837,936 pounds of mozzarella cheese and 4,039,200 pounds of processed cheese. The canned pork purchase was 8,424,000 pounds at a cost of $16,784,000, or approximately $1.99 per pound.

To read the full press release, click here: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/07/0322.xml

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