Growls

Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, etc., released a report on the most outrageous, wasteful federal spending of 2008. In his letter to American taxpayers that introduced the report, Senator Coburn wrote:

“As part of my commitment to oversee how federal agencies in Washington, D.C. spend your money, I am releasing a series of oversight reports on federal spending. My hope is that this effort will assist federal agencies – and those of us in Congress overseeing their budgets – to rein in wasteful spending and to demand measurable results before asking taxpayers to send more of their money to the federal government.

“I also hope federal agencies and congressional committees alike will welcome these oversight reports and join the effort to identify additional areas of waste, mismanagement, fraud, and abuse. If we work together, we can find better ways to prioritize our nation’s limited financial resources.

“With billions of taxpayer dollars spent on low-priority and questionable projects, 2008 was a banner year for wasteful Washington spending. In a time when the government is spending huge sums to address a struggling economy, Congress needs to ensure efficient use of our own resources before turning to taxpayers and asking for more. No one who pays taxes likes to see the government waste resources. I believe the American taxpayer deserves better.”

Some examples of the “$385 billion the federal government throws away every year through waste, fraud and duplication” include:

• $188,000 for Lobster Institute in Maine, home of the “LobsterCam”
• $1 million for bike paths on Louisiana levees while levees await basic repairs
• $2.4 million for a retractable shade canopy at a park in West Virginia
• $24.6 million for the National Park Service’s 100th year birthday in 2016 - 8 years early
• $3.2 million on a blimp the Pentagon does not want
• $367,000 wasted by a Texas school board on items like an inflatable alligator and under-the-sea waterslide, among other things
• $5 million for a bridge to a zoo parking lot in St. Louis
• $9,000 for a non-functioning airplane-shaped gas station in Tennessee
• $300,000 for specialty potatoes for high-end restaurants

The December 11 press release concludes with the following statement from Dr. Coburn:

“”The story the American people already understand is that Congress’ inability to make common sense decisions about spending priorities is putting our children’s future at risk. Until Congress abandons the short-term parochialism that gives us LobsterCams and inflatable alligators, we will never get a handle on the major economic challenges facing this country.”