DoD Money Pit

[Serial Mom]

What an excellent blog by Illinois' Rep. Jan Schakowsky!

Too bad we can't get rid of the Senselessbrenner's and get more people like her into Congress!



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/rep-jan-schakowsky/the-dod-money-pit_2714.html

According to the official government report, entitled "DOD Excess Property: Management Control Breakdowns Result in Substantial Waste and Inefficiency," the Department of Defense wasted billions of taxpayer dollars due to poor management, accounting, and coordination. Here are just a few examples:

[Al-CIAda]

1. Billions? What about the missing 3.4 TRILLION????

As Cynthia McKinney wants to know. Why isn't SHE being backed up and assisted?

Nevermind, I know why.

[jojo54]

2. OMG, this is disgusting.

Question: Why in hell would the Air Force need a taxidermy service? Are they stuffing the birds that splatter on their jet's windshield like college football players mark their helmets each time they score a touchdown?

[Serial Mom]

3. It is more than disgusting ...

They never informed me when they decided to sell items purchased with my tax dollars for free! :sarcasm:

DoD sold "excess commodity items" through government clearinghouses and a website that makes little effort to reclaim the cost of these surplus materials. The GAO was able to purchase a medical instrument chest, two power supplies, and two circuit cards - with a cumulative value of $55,817 - for free, with a five dollar shipping charge.

[Warpy]

4. "Use it or lose it"

has been how the various Pentagon departments have viewed their yearly budgets. Do you know they're still storing warehouses full of white cotton surgical gowns that tie in the back? Those things haven't been used since WWII, but the Pentagon stocked up on them and has been sitting on them ever since, paying out storage money every year.

At the end of the fiscal year, any department that has any of its lavish budget left over will simply go out and order nonsensical items, just to be able to tell Congress that they spent every dime of the budget, and shouldn't there be an increase?

The whole thing is a sick, sick racket and you need look no farther to discover why this counry has crumbling roads, bridges and dams and no national health insurance.

The Pentagon is a five sided bottomless pit. It's time to put those old boys on a strict diet and convert our armed forces to defense forces instead of using them as hired muscle for any multinational corporation that doesn't like the way a country they do business in is being run.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. And with some of the savings...

Give the troops pay raises and sink some money into improvements in the VA.

[Serial Mom]

6. And pay for better health care for veterans

SO many better ways the money could be spent ...