Citizens Against Government

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named freshman Louisiana Rep. Charles Melancon (D-La.) Porker of the Month for fighting the President’s proposed budget cuts, opposing the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and bringing home the bacon for his district. Rep. Melancon belittled the President’s attempts at deficit reduction, calling $15 billion in farm subsidies a "miniscule" part of the federal budget. A longtime leader of the sugar industry, Rep. Melancon chose his opposition to CAFTA, a treaty that would lift some restrictions on sugar imports, thereby lowering costs for domestic food processors and American consumers, as the topic of his first appearance on the House floor. Rep. Melancon also took credit for $30 million in pork-barrel projects included in the $284 billion highway authorization act. For resisting much-needed reforms in flawed and abused farm subsidy policies, for shielding the sugar lobby from the free market, and costing taxpayers and consumers billions, CAGW names Rep. Charles Melancon its Porker of the Month for March.