Washington politicians are more focused on their own political futures than the future of our country. And with no one watching over the vast bureaucracy, the problem isn't just what Washington isn't doing, but what it is doing.
Congress' role is not just passing bills. It is also responsible for conducting oversight to hold the executive branch accountable, which it is failing to do. In fact, Congress actually forced federal agencies to waste billions of dollars for purely parochial, political purposes. Mississippi lawmakers, for example, attached a rider to a larger bill requiring NASA to build a $350 million launch pad tower, which was mothballed as soon as it was completed because the rockets it was designed to test were scrapped years ago. Likewise, when USDA attempted to close an unneeded sheep research station in Idaho costing nearly $2 million every year to operate, politicians in thee region stepped in to keep it going, reports former Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn in his Wastebook report titled “Show Me The Spending.” (1)
This report, the fifth annual in his Wastebook series, gives a snapshot of just a fraction of the countless frivolous projects the government funded recently with borrowed money and your tax dollars. One program spent $190,000 to study compost digested by worms. Another $856,000 went to train mountain lions to walk on treadmills and $46,000 for a snowmobile competition in Michigan.
All this, plus rabbit massages at Ohio State University, butterfly farms on Oklahoma tribal lands, and an Iron Man suit under development at the Department of Defense.
Other examples:
- A new bridge was demolished for using Canadian steel. The Federal Highway Administration helped fund a $144,000 bridge in Morrison, Colorado, that had to be demolished because the American-cast steel in the structure was rolled into beams in Canada. United States “Buy American” provisions limit the amount of foreign steel that can be used in federally funded construction projects. Morrison Mayor Sean Forey said the value of the Canadian portion of the project exceeded a $2,500 minimum in the grant contract by $771.64.
- Synchronized swimming for sea monkeys cost $307,500. Three federal agencies supported a study measuring the swirl created by the collective movements of sea monkeys, a tiny variety of brine shrimp. The researchers found that the creatures, along with the swimming plankton, could 'potentially influence the circulation of water in the oceans.'
- Afghans don't like soybeans or soy based products. What's more, the crop's growing cycle and water needs make it a poor choice for their country, as a British report concluded in 2008. None of that stopped the US Department of Agriculture in 2009 from committing to a years-long effort to encourage Afghans to cultivate, process and consume the crop. USDA staff who make the decision reportedly weren't even aware of the previous research, and they did no feasibility study of their own before green-lighting the soy project. Five years and $34 million later, the project was singled out as a flop. Turn out there was no significant demand for soybean products in Afghanistan.
- The federal government is literally paying people to watch grass grow. The money ($10,000) will cover the cost to monitor grasses, restore two acres as a demonstration and publish a guide on best practices for cultivating the cordgrass, known formally as Spartina alterniflora. About 40,000 plugs of Spartina will be pulled individually out of a salt marsh and observers will painstakingly document how fast it returns.
- Scientists hope gambling monkeys unlock secrets of free will. Humans have long been known to have a 'hot-hands bias' in which they believe hot or cold streaks exist where there are actually none. As part of a $171,000 grant, researchers studying monkeys behavior in winning and losing streaks contend the study could 'provide nuance to our understanding of free will' or even treatment for gambling addiction.
These are among the 100 often questionable and low priority projects in the recent Wastebook exposing Washington's upside down priorities that tally up to $25 billion.
As Coburn concludes, “The point is not to argue against funding science, but to point out that we can do a better job of dolling out the money so it actually goes to science.” Some of the projects may make sense but most leave one with legitimate questions.
Jack Dini
Livermore, CA
References
“Wastebook 2014,” showmethespending.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/wastebook2014.pdf
Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology. He has also written for American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, and Hawaii Reporter.
