You can see why it is so hard for Congress to cut government spending. The government is so well run and so well managed that there is no waste at all. We should definitely allow the Federal government to control more of our lives and make more of our decisions for us. They are awesome!!!
U.S. Contractor in Iraq Charges Pentagon $900 for $7 Control Switch, Report Finds
A U.S. government contractor in Iraq charged the Pentagon a whopping amount of money for inexpensive items, including $900 for a $7 control switch, according to a new report from a U.S. watchdog.
U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart W. Bowen Jr. said review found that Anham, LLC, which is based in suburban Washington, allowed its subcontractors in Iraq to also charge $3,000 for a $100 circuit breaker, and $80 for a piece of plumbing equipment worth $1.41.
As a result, Bowen’s inspectors are seeking to review all Anham contracts with the U.S. government in Iraq and Afghanistan, which total about $3.9 billion.
Hassan S. Judeh, the administration director at Anham’s headquarters in Vienna, Va., declined to respond to Bowen’s examples because he said the company has not seen the report. But Judeh said Anham has a history of providing competitive prices for services, resulting so far in $132 million in savings to the government.
“Anham prides itself on the fact that it watches every penny and strives to always give the government the best cost-benefit in a remarkably hostile war environment,” Judeh said in a statement.
A spokesman for the U.S. military didn’t comment on the overcharges but issued a statement regarding the rest of the report, which found that frequent bombings, assassinations and a resurgence in violence by Shiite militias have made Iraq more dangerous now than it was just a year ago.
“We anticipated, and stated many times, that there would be militant and terrorist groups trying to take advantage of this period as U.S. forces prepare to fulfill our commitments under the Security Agreement. These groups attack both Iraqi and U.S. forces,” U.S. military spokesman Jeffrey Buchanan said.
“From our standpoint, Iraq’s security continues to be an important and complex issue and one that is difficult to summarize in short-term trends and figures.”
The findings come during what Bowen called “a summer of uncertainty” in Baghdad over whether American forces will stay past a year-end withdrawal deadline and continue military aid for the unstable nation.
“Iraq remains an extraordinarily dangerous place to work,” Bowen concluded in his 172-page quarterly report to Congress and the Obama administration on progress — and setbacks — in Iraq. “It is less safe, in my judgment, than 12 months ago.”
The report cited the deaths of 15 U.S. soldiers in June, the bloodiest month for the U.S. military in Iraq in two years. Nearly all of them were killed in attacks by Shiite militias bent on forcing out American troops on schedule.
It also noted an increase in rockets launched against the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, where government offices and foreign embassies are located, as well as constant assassination attempts against Iraqi political leaders, security forces and judges.
Bowen accused the U.S. military of glossing over Iraq’s instability, noting a statement in late May by the U.S. military that described Iraq’s security trends as “very, very positive” — but only when compared to 2007, when the country was on the brink of civil war. In contrast, Bowen talked of “the very real fragility” of national security in Iraq today.
If the U.S. military leaves on schedule, the American Embassy in Baghdad will pick up the responsibility of training Iraqi police. Bowen called the job “challenging” for the fewer than 200 advisers who would be based in three sites but tasked with supporting Iraqi police in 10 of Iraq’s 18 provinces. There are an estimated 400,000 policemen in Iraq.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Opinionated Bloviator says:
“You can see why it is so hard for Congress to cut government spending”.
Yes, the governments sheer size and complexity has rendered it incapable of functioning effectively, as such ALL SPENDING becomes vital as it no longer knows the difference between wasteful and necessary… Ponzi on…
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2nd August 2011 at 9:30 am
Stucky says:
“According to a recently released Department of Defense report, Boeing (NYSE:BA) overcharged the U.S. Army by $13 million dollars for 18 parts, the bill for which came to $23 million as opposed to a fair sale price of $10 million.
While it’s only recently become public, the report is dated May 3, and at the time of its issue, Boeing had already repaid $1.3 billion in what the aircraft manufacturing called “defectively priced parts”.
In one instance, Boeing charged $644.75 for a gear that sells for $12.51. Boeing also charged the Army by tens of thousands of percents over fair sale values on parts the DoD already had in surplus, like 4 cent thin metal pin for which Boeing charged $71.01.”
Fuck Boeing
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/breaking-news/the-department-of-defenses-wasteful-spending-and-how-boeing-cashed-in.html/
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2nd August 2011 at 10:18 am
AwholeDr says:
An interesting list:
Members of Congress and employees of the government are supposed to work for us. We are the ones who pay their salaries. But today, they are the ones “living the American dream” while most of the rest of us scramble just to survive from month to month. Eleven more disturbing statistics:
#1 According to an article in the Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s net worth soared from $13.7 million in 2008 to $21.7 million in 2009.
#2 In 2005, 7420 federal workers were making $150,000 or more per year. In 2010, a whopping 82,034 federal workers are making $150,000 or more per year. That is more than a tenfold increase in just five years.
#3 More than half of the members of the U.S. Congress are millionaires.
#4 The total compensation that the U.S. government workforce is going to take in this year is approximately $447 billion dollars.
#5 Today, all members of Congress earn at least $175,000 for 80 days of work a year (or $2187 per day). This is more than 3x what the average American makes.
#6 60 percent of the federal government workforce is represented by labor unions.
#7 The median wealth of a U.S. Senator in 2009 was 2.38 million dollars.
#8 In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense had just nine civilians earning $170,000 or more. When Barack Obama took office, the U.S. Department of Defense had 214 civilians earning $170,000 or more. In June 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense had 994 civilians earning $170,000 or more.
#9 Insider trading is perfectly legal for members of the U.S. Congress – and they refuse to pass a law that would change that. Is there any wonder why government doesn’t prosecute Wall Street?
#10 According to a recent study conducted by the Heritage Foundation, federal workers earn up to 60 percent more money on average than their counterparts in the private sector.
#11 When you factor in such things as retirement and healthcare benefits, the compensation gap between federal workers and private sector employees gets even larger. Including non-cash benefits adds to this disparity. The average private-sector employer pays $9,882 per employee in annual benefits, while the federal government pays an average of $32,115 per employee (see graphs below).
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2nd August 2011 at 1:10 pm
Kill Bill says:
During debate over the debt deal today on the Senate floor, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) appeared to endorse this call. Lieberman explained that he is working with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) on a Social Security spending reduction plan and that “we can’t protect these entitlements and also have the national defense…to protect us…with Islamist extremists”:
So take from the poor and middle class and give it to war.
Thats pretty disturbing.
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2nd August 2011 at 9:19 pm