CAGW's new Pig Book for 2007 is one of the smallest in years.

his year’s Pig Book breaks a run of seven consecutive years of record dollar amounts of pork, culminating in $29 billion in the 2006 Congressional Pig Book. This lesser barrel of pork can be attributed to the efforts of Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who prevented the enactment of nine appropriations bills in December, 2006, and the subsequent moratorium on earmarks announced and enforced by the House and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairmen David Obey (D-Wis.) and Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) in H. J. Res. 20, the bill that funds the government for the remainder of fiscal 2007.

It's interesting that despite the role of Democrats in cutting back on pork, only Republicans were at CAGW's news conference. Either the Democrats are dropping the ball for taking credit on a major accomplishment, or CAGW has an overtly partisan bias. Even the latter is true, more Democrats need to step up and point out how a Democratic Congress was successful where the Republican Congress failed.