Annual Wastebook Documents Federal Outrages

Even as benefits are cut to veterans — including disabled veterans — while Chuck Schumer sneers about their lack of contribution, the massive waste that defines the federal government goes on and on and on. Yesterday Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) released his annual Wastebook. A few examples of the tales of terror to be found inside:

Beachfront Property for Millionaires – $500 million: A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) home loan program, created to help people with low and moderate incomes afford a home in “rural areas” has been used by many millionaires in “resort communities” in tropical paradises like Hawaii.

NASA’s “Pillownauts” – $360,000: During the shutdown, 97 percent of NASA’s staff was laid off, still the agency was paying 20 people $18,000 each to literally lie around and do nothing for 70 days with their body “slightly tilted forward” for a study to help scientists learn how astronauts bodies will change in space flight. However, NASA isn’t planning any missions anytime in the foreseeable future, since it no longer has a manned space program.

Duplicate IT Systems – $321 million: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spent over $30 million on two IT programs that serve the same purpose. … [A]ccording to a recent GAO report, three agencies have spent $321 million for overlapping IT purposes over the past several years.

Half a Million to Spruce Up Block in Kansas Town – $500,000: The Department of Transportation awarded Rossville, Kansas–a tiny town with a population of 1,150–a grant of $532,000 to make one-block in the downtown area “more decorative and colorful.”

Possibly most enraging of all is the $53,000 paid last year to Islamic terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 14 Americans over 4 years ago. Meanwhile, the survivors of his victims do not qualify for the relevant benefits, because our Islamophilic government categorized his terror attack as “workplace violence.”

The book lists 100 wasteful programs that cost $30 billion in 2013. For a millionth of that, we could buy enough pitchforks and torches to solve all our budget problems, if only we put them to proper use.

wastebook-2013
Weird tales of fiscal terror.

On tips from Ben S and Bob Roberts. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.

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