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Thursday, July 20, 2006

Your Tax Dollars At Work

Posted by on July 20 at 12:44 PM

This is despicable:

A beer-brewing kit and over 50 iPod music players are among hundreds of thousands of dollars’ in wasteful purchases by Homeland Security Department employees following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Poor oversight allowed department employees to make a wide range of questionable purchases during the response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita last fall, congressional investigators at the Government Accountability Office found.

The trouble started when Congress increased the cap on Homeland Security credit cards from $2,500 to $250,000 after Katrina, while putting no guidelines in place for how such cards should be used. Among the questionable purchases by DHS, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service:

• An $8,000 plasma TV;
• $68,000 worth of unused dog booties designed to protect search dogs’ feet;
• 110 laptop computers;
• 54 IPods;
“Team-building exercises” at private golf and tennis resorts;
And, perhaps most shocking:
• $1,000 worth of beer-brewing supplies, which the Coast Guard said “enabled the agency to save money that would be otherwise spent on commercial brands at official functions.” Because obviously, it’s our duty as Americans to pick up these people’s bar tabs.

David Norquist, Homeland Security’s new chief financial officer, said the agency has approved tighter spending guidelines but hasn’t implemented them.


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Well all I can say is THANK GOD the President is a Christian with a successful background in business. His values and business savvy have trickled down to every level of government.

And as far as we know, he hasn't gotten sex from ANYONE in a really long time, and I have every reason to believe that's true. You can only be so desparate.

Now wait a minute. Those booties for the dogs' feet are a legitimate line item. The rest of it, they should come down like a ton of bricks on the purchasers, but those dogs' feet were being shredded by glass and splinters without the booties. That's like objecting to paying for boots for National Guardsmen.

On second read, I'm assuming your objection to the booties is because they were unused, but that kind of thing can be pretty hard to predict in advance.

Frankly, given the quality of "beer" they'd probably have to drink down there (I'm guessing either Lone Star or Coors), I can't really blame them for wanting to whip out a batch or two of nice top-fermented ales now and again. And at an average cost of about $0.50 per bottle, it really was a bargain.

Yeah, I too am thinking that the dog boots seem perfectly legit, had they actually been used. Laptops could have been legitimate as well.

As much as I'd like Bush to be impeached, I can't blame him for bogus Katrina expenditures (I DO blame him for bogus Katrina response). Illegitimate purchases would happen under any administration, it's human nature. And I agree with the others, laptops and booties are legit.

add me to the chorus of supporters for protective doggie boots. unless they bought all of those booties and didn't use them simply becuase they're evil and want rescue dogs to have shredded paws.

What's the problem with government employees having laptops? Dogs having Boots to protect their feet?

Okay, the Plaza TV, I'd have a hard time finding a reason for that, but who bought it? is this a group display screen for NOAA? Or A screen in some guys hotel room?

The same applies to the brewing equipment and the Ipods?

Was the brewing equipment for sailors deployed more than 30 days? If so, they get a beer ration as a form of relief.

Again ECB, I'd like to point out that presenting more sides to a story, other than some trumped up indignation on your part might be worth the effort....

$68,000 in unused booties? What does that work out to - like, 10,000 search dogs? Give me a break.

Can't tell you how many search dogs that works out to without knowing a) cost per bootie, and b) how long they last under the conditions in which they had to work. Presuming 4 booties per dog per day and 100 days, if the booties cost about $15 each, you're looking at closer to 1,000 dogs, which seems not unreasonable to me, considering they were searching for bodies for much longer than 100 days over a very large area.

ECB, it sounds like you have a bunch of growing up to do.

Hoow much of this is due to the fact that this is a program under the Bush Administration...

How about you do a follow up article on tax dollars at work under our current Senators in this State.

Why does Jim McDermott need to bring his son or wife on "fact Finding Missions" overseas to plum areas? What kind of Airline travel does he take? Fist Class or Coach? How about his kid? What are the hotels Bills? Security? otrher related transportation?

Personally, I don't have a problem with some coast guard enlisted kid (in fact I prefer it) having a beer after working for months on end helping in New orleans as opposed to McDermott's kid flying first class, staying at Hilton Hotels around the world and eating friggin lobster on our dime.

Yet you feel the need to blast anything related to this administration?

NO, You give me a break!

Since this is a report from the General Accounting Office, I harldy think ECB is at fault for questioning the necessity of these items. Paul, do you read these items before commenting on them? The laptops are nowhere to be found. The cost of the sixpacks would work out to $13.00 each. Team building seminars at golf resorts? C'mon. The waste from the Katrina FEMA debacle is estimated at 2 billion. Yes, it is the fault of this administration due to the lack of oversite.

David Norquist, Homeland Security’s new chief financial officer

Hmm... any relation to Grover?

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