New York (CNN/Money) – Punxsutawney Phil teamed up with Republican congressman John Peterson on Capitol Hill Tuesday to defend a $100,000 grant considered pork by many for the way in which it was tucked inside a $388 billion spending bill.

One outspoken organization, the Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), a lobby group dedicated to cutting wasteful spending, named Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) and groundhog Punxsutawney Phil as their December Co-Porkers of the Month. The award was bestowed in honor of their successful support of the federal grant for the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center.

Peterson inserted the grant in the omnibus bill in true pork-barrel fashion, according to the CAGW, because "it was not requested in the President's budget, was non-competitive, was not the subject of hearings and appeared only in the House version."

According to the CAGW's criteria, Rep. Peterson's addition of the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center grant in the fiscal 2005 Veterans Affairs/Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act is a prime example of pork worthy of reward. Previous winners of the dubious award include Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.).

The center, scheduled to open on Groundhog Day 2006, has begun the fight for legitimacy by sending Punxsutawney Phil, the legendary groundhog, to Washington for a news conference with Peterson to defend the grant.

"This one-of-a-kind museum will help promote tourism in a beautiful, historic region of the country that has been struggling economically," Mr. Peterson said.

For Punxsutawney Phil however, merely guilty of living for the weather and a pawn in the political process, the center – and the award – casts a shadow on his infamous February outing.