A government-watchdog group says the Democrat-led Congress last year broke a promise to slash pork spending and doled out $17.2 billion for pet projects, including $296 million in earmarks by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — the top spender of the three presidential contenders.

"There was hope that the number and cost of earmarks would be cut in half. By any measure, that has not occurred," said Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), which yesterday released its annual "Pig Book" tally of pork spending.

Congress stuffed 11,610 projects into fiscal 2008 spending bills, the second-highest total ever and more than triple the number of projects in fiscal 2007. The $17.2 billion spent reflected a 30 percent increase over the previous year's $13.2 billion expenditure, according to the "Pig Book."

The projects include $1.9 million for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service, named for Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel, New York Democrat, who requested the earmark; $460,752 for hops research related to beer making; $188,000 for the Lobster Institute in Maine; and $148,950 for the Montana Sheep Institute.

The top three "porkers" identified in the "Pig Book" all were Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee: ranking member Thad Cochran of Mississippi with $892 million, Ted Stevens of Alaska with $469 million and Richard C. Shelby of Alabama with $465 million.

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