Did You Order Pork? How Much?

Citizens Against Government Waste, the right-leaning advocacy group dedicated to eliminating "pork," member items if you want to be nice about it, from the Congressional budget is keeping a tally of just which members of Congress would and would not make a full list of their member item requests public.

"CAGW's database is a tool for taxpayers, and we hope they'll visit it daily as the process unfolds. We intend to keep the pressure on to persuade more House members to voluntarily shed light on the spending process,"said CAGW President Tom Schatz.

In the Senate, both Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer are [listed] as refusing to provide such a list to the CAGW. In the [House](http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=EarmarkRequests_2007_House) only two New York members have complied. Upstate Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand (pictured), who has dedicated her first term to bringing sunshine to governmental darkness, provided CAGW with a list. Staten Island/Brooklyn Republican Vito Fossella is listed as refusing to request any pork, making him a hero in the eyes of Schatz.

"Those members who have refused to request earmarks deserve the gratitude of the American taxpayer," said Schatz. "They are part of a growing shift in national attitudes about congressional spending."

Six house members have refused to provide a list: Eliot Engel, John Hall, Brian Higgins, Maurice Hinchey, Charlie Rangel and Ed Towns. The rest have not yet answered.