Congressman John Carter’s pork spending rises to $225 million
If Congressman Carter is any indication, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have their work cut out for them to reduce the size of government.
Back on January 13 of 2024, we wrote a column about Congressman Carter’s pork-barrel spending. At that time, he was boasting about bringing back $73 million dollars to his district, which includes six counties immediately north of Austin. Fast-forward one year and he’s now claiming that he brought back $225 million in local projects in 2024. Again, in in his newsletter, he promises to deliver “principled small government.”
But he can’t do both.
Either we cut back on federal spending or we don’t. Carter more than tripled his pork from one year to the next.
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Congressman Carter is not an anomaly.
Actually, I like him personally, despite my criticisms on the radio. Those relate mostly to his record on illegal immigration, about which he and I have sparred. Other than that, he’s been a reliable conservative on most issues. (And I suspect that the Joe Biden border crisis may have opened up Mr. Carter’s eyes as Biden opened up the border. I would love to interview him about that, but he hasn’t been available every time I’ve asked, and I gave up some years ago.)
U.S. Rep. John Carter’s newsletter carries his usual pledge of “principled small government.” (Scan by Lynn Woolley for WBDaily)
Now, to the issue at hand: the fiscal crisis that the United States is in because the propensity of Democrats to tax and spend, and of Republicans to talk about cutting government while still spending. That’s right, folks, Democrats may be worse on this issue, but Republicans have nothing to brag about.
Any time you look at a list of what your local Congress member sneaked into a CR or some appropriations bill or the dreaded Omnibus – you’re dumbfounded at some of the crap we waste money on. Some of the sillier expenditures relate to oddball scientific studies or local wish lists that have nothing to do with the rest of the country. I’ll just mention the Sparta Teapot Museum of Craft and Design in Sparta, North Carolina. $500 million dollars of your tax money went to fund it. Be certain to put it on your bucket list next time you travel to Sparta.
Why do we fund these things?
Votes. And here’s the problem: Members of Congress are trained and conditioned by the movers-and-shakers in their districts to bring home bacon. If they do a good job of bringing federal money to the district, then mayors and council members and local media, and power brokers will do whatever it takes to keep them in office.
RELATED: Congressman John Carter spends millions while cutting spending
Note that there are often good things funded in these appropriation bills – things such as water line replacements, and road and bridge improvements. These things are needed. But should they be state and local issues or should they be funded by people across the fifty states?
Let’s look at some of the pork that Congressman Carter brought home in 2024.
Start with $147 million for Motor Pool construction at Fort Cavazos. I wonder if this was a done deal anyway, and Carter just gets to announce it for credit. The United States Armed Forces is certainly an item that the U.S. government must fund – but even there, it is too woke and must be reformed, including finding ways to do more for less.
However, if you remove the dollars for Fort Cavazos, Carter’s pork is down to $78 million. Still high for a guy who claims to want smaller government. (And, he claimed the Cavazos expenditure as something he personally made happen. That’s why it’s in the total of his pork spending.)
Carter also claims credit for:
- An elevated water storage tank in Gatesville ($620,640)
- Wirtz Dam bridge construction in Burnet ($10 million)
- Baylor Scott & White Marble Falls CT scanner for emergency room ($1.04 million)
- A Texas State University gene sequencer in Round Rock ($3 million)
- Connell Street widening in Belton ($9.68 million)
- CR255 Waterline upgrade in Georgetown ($3.5 million)
- SH 195 to Ronald Reagan connectors in Williamson County ($10 million)
And so on. You can read more in the attached graphic from his newsletter.
Congressman Carter’s roundup of pork projects touts Fiscal Year 2025 (Scan by Lynn Woolley for WBDaily)
The CT scanner for a local hospital raises eyebrows.
Baylor Scott & White is my healthcare provider and I love and appreciate my doctor and the facility in general. Having said that, medical bills across the country are outrageous.
Can hospitals that charge multiples of what they did a few years back not afford their own equipment? And do they not charge patients and their insurance companies for the use of such equipment? Shouldn’t those fees pay for the equipment? I’m just asking.
With 100 senators and 435 members of the U.S. House, how much pork could we cut? And will we?
I used to think that being a member of Congress was to focus on momentous issues like war and peace, relations between nations, keeping the food supply safe, and keeping our monetary system sound. But damn it, that waterline loop in Clifton is such a big deal that it must be funded, not by the people who live there, but by the entirety of the United States of America.
RELATED: The National Debt Crisis Should be the Top Issue in our Elections
The oddest thing of all is that Congressman Carter likes to tout these expenditures and takes full credit for them. After all, he keeps the pork flowing and he keeps getting reelected. But he claims to be a small-government politician. His newsletter is full of photos of him getting various awards from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (a lobbying group) and of him getting appropriations bills passed.
There is zero in the current newsletter about America’s problems and how they might be addressed. It’s all about how wonderful the Congressman is, and what great things he has done. The newsletter carries a disclaimer that reads:
Paid for by official funds authorized by the House of Representatives.
Members of Congress have franking privileges so that they do not have to cover the cost of mailing. So, no matter what congressional district you live in, you may get a similar newsletter detailing the pork your member has brought home and showing all the cute photos. Congress members’ newsletters are not really news; they are intended as public relations mailouts to make you feel good about what a great job your congressman or senator is doing.
And you paid for that, too.
Lynn Woolley is a Texas-based author, broadcaster, and songwriter. Follow his podcast at https://www.PlanetLogic.us. Check out his author’s page at https://www.Amazon.com/author/lynnwoolley. Order books direct from Lynn at https://PlanetLogicPress.Square.Site. Email Lynn at lwoolley9189@gmail.com.
Printing of this book, and mailing it is always paid by me. But I reserve the right to charge shipping and handling.
