Washington, D.C. - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) its February 2009 Porker of the Month.

On February 6, 2009, Sen. Kerry spoke on the Senate floor in support of the $787 billion stimulus package. In his speech he said “I have heard a lot of talk about we ought to do a tax cut, we ought to do a tax cut. I have supported many tax cuts during my years here, and there are tax cuts in this proposal. But a tax cut is non-targeted. If you put a tax cut into the hands of either a business or an individual today, there is no guarantee they are going to invest their money. There is no guarantee that they are going to invest their money in the United States. They are free to go to invest anywhere they want, if they choose to invest. … The fact is none of those people are guaranteed to invest that money in any of the new projects that we are. So government yes government has the ability to be able to make a decision that the private sector won’t necessarily make today.” Sen. Kerry must have been referring to some of government’s most spectacular investment “successes”: Amtrak, for example, which was supposed to be profitable, yet has lost more than $30 billion since 1970. Or, closer to home, the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project in Boston, known as the Big Dig, which was supposed to cost $2.8 billion and be completed in seven years but ended up costing $14.6 billion over 15 years.

“Taxpayers should be grateful to Sen. Kerry for at least coming clean,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz. “He graciously made explicit what many have suspected for years; namely that many members of Congress believe that taxpayers cannot be trusted with their own money and that government is better positioned to make investment and spending decisions.”

While Sen. Kerry claimed in his comments to have supported tax cuts many times in his over-long and less-than-illustrious career, the National Taxpayers Union has consistently awarded him an “F” for his voting record on tax policy. Sen. Kerry also expressed disdain for the fact that billions of dollars will go unaccounted for and squandered like so much fiscal runoff as a result of Congress’s haste in passing the stimulus bill. He said, “you know, the difference between $50 billion on this bill or $100 billion let's get it moving that is not going to make the difference to the economy.”

“Even for Sen. Kerry, who has a notorious tin ear and an ostentatious demeanor when it comes to public pronouncements, these statements are breathtakingly arrogant,” said Schatz.

For his casual infantilization of American taxpayers and for being the chief spokesperson of the new Nanny State on Steroids, CAGW names Sen. John Kerry February Porker of the Month.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.