Over the last year, Unites State Government has passed several unprecedented spending bills. Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard of the Stimulus Bills. Lawmakers told us that these bills were needed to save the economy. One look at the government's spending report for Fiscal Year 2009 provides multiply examples of wasteful government spending.
Hawaii and Guam are spending millions on controlling brown snakes. In Fiscal Year 2009, Representatives Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Representative Madeline Bordallo (D-Guam) requested $1.2 million. Representatives Hirono and Borallo requested the money to control brown snakes. Even more astonishing, similar requests were made each of the last 14 years. A total of $14.6 million has been used to control brown snakes.
The next Bill that smells like bacon, is one that House Appropriator Carolyn Kilpatrick ( D-Mich ), requested $50,000 for. This money is being used for tree replacement in River Rouge, MI. According to a census completed in 2000, this town had a population of less then 10,000 people. Could this money not have had a better use? How many trees do you get for $50,000? Does a town of less then 10,000 people really need this many trees. Why not start a community outreach program to keep kids off the streets and off of drugs. Education, in my opinion, is more important then a few thousand trees.
Lets talk about the outlandish Military Spending going on in this country. Senate Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee member Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), and Representative Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), requested $30,000,000 for Phase Five of an access road at the Pohakuloa Training Area. Since 2002 this Training Area has received six earmarks worth $74.4 million. How many Phases does an access road have? Is 70 plus million not enough to complete this project? Why is it taking the better part of 7 years to complete? When a project raises this many questions from an everyday civilian, then theres definitely something wrong. We have kids walking into schools and maliciously shooting other children. Why dont we invest this money on something much more important, like keeping illegal guns off the streets and out of the hands of children, possibly even a Gun Awareness and Education Program..
Veterans benefits and military spending have received a large amount of attention. Our military veterans deserve the best benefits money can buy. This spending story has nothing to do with veterans benefits. It is about a request for money to build a dining hall. Representative Louise Slaughter joined then Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in requesting $9 million to build a dining hall at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.
Another example of wasteful government spending comes from Ames, Iowa. Swine farms give off a large amount of odor. I am sure most people would agree that pigs can be stinky. Would they label this a problem for the federal government? Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) would. He recently requested #1.791 million to research odor management for pigs. That gives new meaning to "pork barrel spending".
Humans also give off stinky manure. Larry the Cable Guy has even made a living with jokes about his bathroom habits. Swine are not the only ones. Should we spend $1.791 million studying how to make human feces smell better. Would any American defend this as the best use of federal funds?
For several years, Department of Defense has worked on a new jet plane. The Joint Strike Fighter would provide America a more advanced piece of military machinery. There is no surprise in this plane. Keeping Americans safe requires that we develop the newest weapons. What is surprising is the jet's engines. A successful engine has been developed. Congress decided that the engine would be cheaper is there was competition. $465 million was allocated to develop a second engine. Not because the first one did not work, just to make competition. Some would call this wasteful government spending.
There were 435 Representatives and 100 Senators that refused to be identified with this massive waste of taxpayers dollars. Does that tell you something? If the elected officials that we have put in office are ashamed to be connected with an Earmarked Bill such as this, then it makes you wonder why the money was even appropriated for this nonsense. Do we really need to allot $465 million to build engines on a competition level?
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