Senator Tom Coburn is out with his list of wasteful federal spending and Oregon’s nose is right there in the trough. You’ll recall that Coburn called attention to Portland’s redundant bike signs last year–a claim that Politi”fact” tried to take issue with him–and me–on. See the story here.

But this time Coburn has in his sites Oregon’s fabulous cheese industry. Who doesn’t love Tillamook cheese for goodness’ sake? Well, Coburn probably loves it, but doesn’t think the federal government needs to give over $50,000 to fund 24 videos on the history of cheese.
Says Coburn,

“It is unclear whether the promotion is necessary. Some of the state‘s smaller operations are still grappling with how to accommodate the growing interest in the small farms that are designed for goats or cows.”

Wow, imagine that. The Oregon Cheese industry has gotten word out about all of these artisinal cheeses without those videos. Imagine that…

Photo Credit: Oregonian

Another program in Coburn’s crosshairs is the $8.3 million from the Department of Transportation for the Covered Bridge Preservation Program. Covered bridges are pretty to look at. Take Oregon’s Larwood Covered Bridge for instance:

” While the original town is gone, federal funds are being used to rehabilitate the Larwood Covered Bridge as a ―reminder of the area‘s previous activities”

Paying homage to what ‘used to be’ is nice but that’s a pretty expensive memento. And why is the FEDERAL government paying for it again?

In Washington State the pigs are in the trough. The feds have picked up $2 million of the tab for a $6.3 million “Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center.”

Wow, if it weren’t for this grant I’ll bet you would never have heard of Washington wines. But wait–this facility has an added benefit: you’ll be able to have taxpayer subsidized meetings and weddings in it!

The center, owned by the Port of Benton, hopes to educate the
public about Washington State‘s diverse wine and food industry.
―The Clore Center is expected to be a destination for wine and food education, featuring a tasting room, kitchen, exhibits, teaching vineyards, gardens, classrooms and conference rooms, notes a recent press report. The center‘s website also notes how the ―Vineyard Pavilion is adaptable for meetings, events and weddings.

 Oink.

Never one to be put in a corner,  the food industry is elbowing for some money, too. Washington’s fruit industry has received a $100,000 federal grant to underwrite the:

Celebrity Chef Fruit Promotion Road Show in Indonesia.‖ The event is designed to raise ―consumer awareness through promoting our fruit in cooking recipes and demonstrations done by Celebrity Chefs.‘‖ Indonesia was selected because it is seen as ―an emerging market with immediate potential of increased sales opportunities‖ for cherries, apples, and pears.

This may be a tough market to penetrate though–even when you DO send celebrity chefs to do the sales pitch because as Coburn reveals:

According to the Center for Tropical Fruit Studies at  Bogor Agricultural University, however, Indonesia produces twice the amount of fruit the country  consumes. Further, the fruit-of-choice of most Indonesians is the banana.

Your tax dollars at work. Who needs a defense department?